Palestinian who murdered 3 Israeli family members gets 4 life sentences

A Palestinian terrorist who murdered a father and his two children was sentenced to four life terms in prison.

By: World Israel News Staff

Palestinian terrorist Omar al-Abed, who murdered three members of the Salomon family in Neve Tzuf in Samaria in July, was sentenced by an Israeli Military court on Thursday to four life terms in prison.

He was also ordered to pay damages in the sum of NIS 1.8 million.

On July 21, al-Abed infiltrated the Salomon home and fatally stabbed Yosef Salomon, 70, and his children Chaya Salomon, 46, and Elad Salomon, 36, as the family celebrated the birth of a new grandson. Yosef’s wife Tova, 68, was seriously wounded.

He was shot and neutralized during the attack by a soldier on furlough.

Part of al-Abed’s home was destroyed by the IDF in August. Similarly, an Israeli military court convicted five relatives of knowing of the impending attack ahead of time and of failing to take any action to warn the Jewish state.

The Salomon family had campaigned to have al-Abed executed, but only one judge of the three sentenced him to death. Al-Abed’s two brothers and uncle were sentenced to eight months in prison, his father was sentenced to two months incarceration, and his mother was sentenced to a month in prison and a fine for incitement and glorifying her son’s actions after the attack. The five also received suspended sentences.

“We also discussed the maximum sentence — the death penalty. Words cannot describe the extent of the atrocity committed by the defendant,” the judges wrote. They also called for al-Abed “not to be released in any future deal.”

Responding to the sentence, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, who had advocated for the death penalty for al-Abed, tweeted that “no number of life sentences is enough to punish this human animal who has a smile smeared on his face. My heart aches with the Salomon family.”

Chen Salomon, who lost her father-in-law and two brothers-in-law in the incident, said that “there is no punishment in the world which will bring back our loved ones. In order for incidents like this not to occur in the future, the state needs to implement the death penalty, which is what this vile murderer deserves.”

Al-Abed receives a monthly salary from the Palestinian Authority (PA) for committing the murders. According to official PA regulations, he is eligible for $3,120 per month, for life.