Last update - 00:00 08/05/2007
Kafr Qasem man jailed for seven years for driving Tel Aviv suicide bomber
By Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday jailed a resident of the northern village of Kafr Qasem for seven and half years, for transporting a suicide bomber who blew himself up in a Tel Aviv cafe in 2002.
Islam Badir, 28, admitted driving the bomber and his accomplice, Raed Abu Saris, a 28-year-old Nablus resident, from Kafr Qasem to Petah Tikva.
The bomber then traveled from Petah Tikva to Tel Aviv and carried out the deadly attack at the "My Coffee Shop" cafe on the corner of Allenby and Bialik streets, killing one woman and wounding dozens of people.
Abu Saris admitted during questioning that he had followed orders from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades to accompany the terrorist from Nablus to Tel Aviv.
Badir and Abu Saris had been involved in illegal activity together before, and Abu Saris approached Badir, asking him if he would agree to drive the bomber and himself to Petah Tikva.
Following the investigation into Abu Saris' involvement in the attack, the Shin Bet security service located Badir, who was serving jail time for other offenses.
According to Badir's testimony, Abu Saris had told him the two passengers intended to engage in illegal activity but had not indicated that they wanted to carry out a terror attack.
But during the drive, Badir began to suspect the two intended to carry out an attack. He confronted the two and asked whether this was true and they confirmed his suspicions.
Nonetheless, Badir dropped the bomber and his accomplice at their destination in Petah Tikva and returned to Kafr Qasem, without alerting security forces of the matter.
Abu Saris and the bomber caught a taxi in Petah Tikva and made their way to Tel Aviv. The terrorist arrived at the "My Coffee Shop" cafe' at a time when most of those present were watching a soccer match on television.
The suicide attack killed Rachel Charkhi, 37, of Bat Yam, and 28 others were wounded. The coffee shop was entirely destroyed.