Female Palestinian minor sentenced to 10 years for attempted stabbing

A Jerusalem court has sentenced a 17-year-old Palestinian female to 10 years in prison for an attempted stabbing attack on Israeli troops.

The verdict against Malak Salman from occupied East Jerusalem was announced by the city’s District Court on Wednesday. Salman’s lawyer, Ramzi Kteilat, has called the ruling unfair and promised to appeal it at the Israeli Supreme Court.

“Ten years is a brutal, unjust sentence that is against international law for a girl who is not yet an adult,” Kteilat said as cited by Palestinian Ma’an news agency.

Malak’s mother, Fatina Salman, told the agency that her daughter received the verdict “smiling and with her head high.”

The teenager was detained at a checkpoint outside the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on February 9, 2016.

According to security forces, Salman was stopped due to “moving in a suspicious way” and drew a knife from her bag when they attempted to search her.

She was swiftly subdued by the officers, without anyone suffering injuries in the incident.

Salman was convicted the next day and has been waiting her sentence since then, making several appearances before the court.

The head of the Jerusalem Detainees’ Parents Committee, Amjad Abu Assab, called the verdict against the 17-year-old another Israeli assault on children in occupied territories.

The ruling by the Israeli court showed the “real racist nature of the Israeli legal system,” especially, considering the fact that Malak “never attempted any attack,” IMEMC news reported.

Israel has recently introduced new legislation, allowing stricter sentences to Palestinian minors who throw rocks or carry out attacks against Israelis.

In January, a Palestinian youth was handed an 18-year sentence for throwing a rock at a car, causing the death of Israeli citizen in 2015.

A wave of Palestinian stabbing attacks in Israel and the occupied West Bank has led to the deaths of 37 Israelis, two Americans and a UK citizen since October 2015.

According to Israeli security forces, at least 162 Palestinians were killed as they attempted stabbing, shooting or ramming attacks.

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