The Haifa District Court on Monday sentenced 25-year-old Adham Bashir from Acre to 10 years in prison, after being convicted of involvement in a lynching in the city during the "Guardian of the Walls" operation in which Mor Janashvili was attacked by dozens of Arab rioters in Acre. Bashir was also sentenced to a year of probation and it was determined that he will pay the victim compensation in the amount of 150,000 Shekels.

Judges Yehiel Lifshitz, Galit Ziegler, and Shmuel Mandelbaum noted that the sentence was given unanimously, and after it was read, Janashvili burst into tears and said that "this is an emotional moment for me. This is what I wanted - 10 years in prison." 

The severity of the punishment was also in line with the wishes of the prosecutor's office, which asked the court to sentence Bashir to a sentence ranging from 10 to 13 years in prison. Before the sentence was given, the defendant said: "I regret and am ashamed of what I did." Bashir will start serving his prison term next Thursday.

Arab man sentenced to 10 years in prison for participating in an attempted lynching of a Jewish man in Acre during riots that broke out during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021 — @hamdahsalhut pic.twitter.com/bEDbzSerk7

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) November 28, 2022

At the end of the hearing, Janashvili left the courtroom holding the Israeli flag while his supporters were singing "Am Yisrael Chai" (An ancient Hebrew song that translates to “The people of Israel are alive”). The victim told reporters that "I thank the judges for the sentence. We are not in exile. It is not normal that a Jew in the state of Israel should be afraid of carrying an Israeli flag." 

According to him, "My life has been destroyed. I've been in rehabilitation for a year and a half, my soul has been crushed for a year and a half." Hana, Janashvili's mother, shared in tears: "I am very excited. I thank the prosecutor's office that fought and the judges who received this well-deserved sentence." 

Bashir was convicted of a terrorist act of aggravated malicious wounding when he threw a stone at Janashvili's vehicle and hit the back of the vehicle. Bashir broke the window of the car using a metal bat, with the intention of causing Janashvili serious injury, disability, or disfigurement, and all from a nationalist-ideological motive. During the arguments for the sentence that took place last month, Bashir's attorney requested that he be sentenced to a prison sentence of between one and four years.

Adham Bashir was convicted of several terrorist acts as part of a plea deal, after he and others beat a Jewish driver with iron bars, clubs and stones in Acre during Israel's Operation Guardian of the Walls in Gazahttps://t.co/676BhPycEd

— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) November 28, 2022

During the lynching, the rioters broke the windows of Janashvili's car, beat him with clubs and sticks, and kicked him. With his remaining strength, Janashvili managed to escape from the rioters, despite his injuries. The other participants in the lynching, with less prominent rules than Bashir, have yet to be sentenced.

Arab citizens in Israel were angry over propaganda from Hamas that Israel was moving to destroy Al Aqsa mosque and rebuild a new Temple on the site. The incitement from Hamas turned into rocket fire from the Gaza enclave and resulted in Israel launching an all out assault against the Gaza Strip.