Palestinian jailed for 18-years over killing of Brit Hannah Bladon

A Palestinian man has been jailed for 18 years for stabbing a British student to death in Israel.

The Jerusalem district court accepted a plea bargain on Thursday in sentencing Jamil Tamimi, 60, for the attack on Good Friday in April 2017.

He killed 20-year-old Birmingham University student Hannah Bladon on a Jerusalem light rail train, stabbing her multiple times before an off-duty policeman pulled the emergency brake and subdued him.

Tamimi’s defence team claimed he suffered from a mental illness and the attack was not ideologically or politically motivated.

Ms Bladon was an exchange student at Hebrew University.

Maurice Hirsch, her family’s representative, said he was disappointed her killer would not be serving a life sentence for his crime but he added “no sentence would have been able to return Hannah”.

Ms Bladon was stabbed multiple times in the back with a 7-inch knife as she was travelling on a train near the Old City.

Her family said she had been taking part in an archaeological dig that morning and described her as a “talented musician” and “enthusiastic rugby player”.

The train was packed at the time of the attack as Christians marked Good Friday and Jews celebrated Passover.

The indictment alleged that Tamimi bought the knife that morning and hid it in a bag, before later boarding a train where he stood next to Ms Bladon.

Prosecutors say he stabbed the student several times, including in her back, right arm and chest.

Paramedics treated Ms Bladon at the scene and rushed her to hospital, but she later died.

A pregnant woman and a 50-year-old man were also injured when the train came to a sudden stop in the aftermath of the attack.