Idier Wahid Taysir Hayb (or al-Heib) (; ) is a

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

convicted In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a trial by jud ...

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

, who shot International Solidarity Movement civilian activist

Tom Hurndall Thomas Hurndall (27 November 1981 – 13 January 2004) was a British photography student, a volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), and an activist against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. On 11 April ...

, while on duty in

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

on April 11, 2003. Hurndall died in January 2004, after a nine-month coma. Hayb was sentenced to eight years for

.Soldier jailed for activist death

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 11 August 2005.Simon Atkinson
British peace activist was ‘intentionally killed’

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, 10 April 2006. His sentence was reduced in July 2010, and he was released after only five years. He is the brother of Amira al Hayb, the first Bedouin Israeli female to join the IDF.

Investigation and trial

Initially, Hayb claimed he had shot at a man in military fatigues, who was firing at soldiers. However, photographic evidence clearly showed that Hurndall was wearing a bright orange jacket, denoting he was a foreigner. Hayb was an award-winning

marksman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting. In modern military usage this typically refers to the use of projectile weapons such as an accurized telescopic sight, scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle (or a sniper ri ...

and his rifle had a

telescopic sight A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope. It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a ''reticle'' – mounted in a focally appropriate p ...

. He said he aimed four inches from Hurndall's head, 'but he moved'. Hayb, allegedly, claimed a policy of shooting at unarmed civilians existed at the time. In May 2004, Taysir Hayb went on trial for manslaughter in the death of Tom Hurndall, obstruction of justice and unbecoming behaviour. In August 2005, he was convicted of manslaughter and obstruction of justice and sentenced to 8 years in prison.

Release

Hayb was to be released in August 2010, after an army committee headed by Advocate-General

Avichai Mandelblit Avichai Mandelblit (; born 29 July 1963) is an Israeli jurist who served as the Attorney General of Israel from 2016 to 2022. Mandelblit had a long career in the Israel Defense Forces legal system, eventually serving as the Chief Military Advoc ...

decided to shorten his sentence due to good behavior. The army committee dismissed arguments from military prosecutors that the early release could harm relations between Israel and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and said he "no longer posed any threat to society in their view." Hayb was finally released on September 8, 2010, after having served six-and-a-half years of his sentence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayb, Taysir Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Military snipers Bedouin Israelis 21st-century Israeli military personnel Arab citizens of Israel Place of birth missing (living people) Israeli soldiers Israeli people convicted of manslaughter Prisoners and detainees of Israel Military personnel who were court-martialed People convicted of obstruction of justice