(Communicated by the IDF Spokesperson)

On August 20th 2007, the Military Court of Samaria sentenced Muhammad Kharanba to life-imprisonment. Kharanba was involved in the killing of an IDF soldier, Roee Fargon, at a checkpoint near the Israeli community of Beqa'ot, August 19th, 2006. The soldier was killed when a gunman opened fire at the soldiers manning the checkpoint. The soldiers returned fire and killed him.

Kharanba was convicted of the following crimes:

·   Involvement in the planning of the August 19th attack at the checkpoint.

·   Delivering operational details regarding the checkpoint to the gunman, including the timing of the changing of the guard.

·   Kharanba provided the gunman with his own working-permit in order to allow him to reach the checkpoint and execute the attack.  

·   Kharanba drove the gunman in his taxi to the scene of the attack, the Hamra checkpoint, on August 19th 2006.

The evidence indicates that Kharanba promised the gunman that he would continue to assist future attackers in the same way.