The Central District Court in Lod today (Monday) sentenced Hassan Bani Odeh, 26, an illegal resident from Jenin, to 6 years in prison. While fleeing in a stolen vehicle, he hit an IDF soldier at the gate of the Tzirifin base, who tried to prevent his escape.
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Odeh pleaded guilty and was convicted of committing the offenses of aggravated sabotage, endangering human life on a transportation route, receiving a stolen vehicle, and being in Israel illegally.
The indictment filed by the Central District Attorney's Office states that Odeh - who never had a driver's license - entered Israel with car thieves in violation of the law, arrived with them in Tel Aviv, where they stole a car, handed it over to Odeh, and he fled in the stolen vehicle.
After being identified on Highway 4 by police vehicles, he drove wildly and at an excessive speed of approximately 160 km/h and, while fleeing in order to avoid arrest, entered the area of the Tzirifin base through the opposite lane and continued to drive at a speed that endangered the soldiers.
In an attempt to escape from the base, he slowed his vehicle near the exit gate and noticed a soldier near the gate who had locked the gate to prevent Odeh from escaping. So, intending to avoid arrest, he accelerated his vehicle and hit the exit gate and the soldier.
As a result of the accident, the soldier was seriously injured.
During the sentencing arguments, Attorney Yael Teram of the Central District Attorney's Office requested that an appropriate sentence range be determined in Benny Odeh's case, ranging from 7 to 11 years in prison.
Attorney Teram noted in her arguments that this was a serious run-over incident and emphasized that this was an illegal resident who entered the country to commit a property crime and, in his attempt, traveled a long distance on major roads in a life-threatening manner, until he reached a military base and, in order to prevent his arrest, deliberately hit a soldier standing at the gate.
In the verdict, the court set a sentence range of between 6 and 9 years - sentencing him to 6 years in prison, probation, disqualification of his driver's license for 5 years from the date of his release from prison, as well as compensation to the victim of the offense in the amount of 30,000 shekels.
