Attempted 'Suicide-by-Cop' Sentenced to 6-Month Prison Term

Jerusalem, 12 July, 2016 (TPS) -- Nazareth (TPS) — The Nazareth District Court sentenced Asraa Zidan Tawfik Abed, 30, to six months in prison on Tuesday for carrying a knife illegally. Abed had brandished a knife at Israeli police officers in Afula’s Central Bus Station in October.

A video widely viewed online shows Abed holding the knife aloft while shouting at nearby security officials. After she ignored the security forces’ orders to drop the knife, she was shot in the lower body, sustaining a moderate injury.

Israel Police officials declined to comment.

According to the prosecution, Abed, who wished to commit suicide, had behaved like a terrorist in order to be shot to death by Israeli security forces.

While Abed’s relatives claimed that she suffered from mental problems and was unfit to stand trial, the court ruled otherwise.

“After a mental evaluation, we decided that Asraa Zidan Tawfik Abed was found to be mentally fit and aware, and we continued with the legal process,” a court official told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).

Abed, a mother of three, was studying for an MA at the Technion in Haifa. She had previously worked as a teacher on Kibbutz Yifat.

“This sentence, which is significant and sensitive, takes into account the accused’s mental state and her need to seek treatment even as it creates a deterrent,” the judges wrote in the sentencing document.

Michael Zeff contributed to this report.