The 32-year-old Acre resident convicted in the death of a Nahariya high school student following an accidental encounter at an attempted hit in January 2020 received his sentence Wednesday at Haifa District Court.

Halal Khlo was ordered to serve 25 years in prison for the murder of the 17-year-old along with a suspended 12-month term and the maximum compensation payable to the victim's family.

After more than six years of a complicated proceeding that relied heavily on indirect proof Khlo agreed to a plea arrangement negotiated by his lawyers Uri Ben Natan and Zohar Arbel with the Haifa District Attorney's Office.

Khlo admitted guilt under a revised charge sheet and was found guilty of intentional murder attempted murder illegal weapon possession recklessness and negligence.

What led to the fatal shooting of the student?

The updated indictment states that Khlo and accomplices planned to attack Muhammad Rubai aged 28 while he was in Nahariya by firing from a moving vehicle as he walked along the street. The shots wounded the intended target yet one round also struck the nearby high school student.

The teenager was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries several hours afterward.

The matter was nearing a verdict when defense counsel sought the plea agreement. Prosecutor attorney Muhammad Molla explained that after reviewing evidentiary challenges that surfaced during trial and consulting the families of the deceased and the wounded the prosecution viewed the arrangement as fair and proportionate.

Defense position on the agreement

The defense pointed out that Khlo was charged not with pulling the trigger or driving the vehicle but with participating in the crimes alongside others because prosecutors could not establish which participant struck the victim or the injured party.

Attorney Tomer Ben Hamo representing the family through the SNA program for relatives of homicide victims told the court that accepting the settlement proved very difficult after six years of litigation yet the family chose the certainty of a murder conviction and final resolution of the case.

He added that monetary compensation played no role in the family's decision.