Supreme Court in unusual decision: Young man convicted of killing Palestinian woman in 2018 will not enter prison until his appeal is decided

The Supreme Court delayed the prison sentence of a Jewish young man convicted of killing a Palestinian woman in 2018, pending a decision on his appeal. Justice Ruth Ronen reasoned that his conviction was based on circumstantial evidence and that this is an exceptional case.

The Supreme Court decided today (Tuesday, November 3, 2026) to delay the prison sentence imposed on a Jewish young man convicted of killing the Palestinian woman Aisha al-Rabi in 2018, after she threw a stone at a car with Palestinian license plates in which she was traveling with her family. In September, the young man was sentenced to 13 years in prison, after a panel of three judges at the Lod District Court convicted him by a majority of two to one, with one judge acquitting him due to reasonable doubt. Justice Ruth Ronen justified the decision by noting that the case is exceptional, and if the appeal is accepted and the young man is acquitted, he will not have to serve any prison time. She noted that his conviction was based on circumstantial evidence, and that one of the panel judges believed the evidence was insufficient for a conviction. She also noted the time that has passed since the incident, the lack of a prior criminal record, and his being a minor at the time of the incident. His attorneys from the Honenu organization welcomed the decision and called it groundbreaking.