The terrorist became ‘mister,’ they murdered us twice

Ruti Hasno, the bereaved widow of Avraham Hasno who was brutally run over and murdered by an Arab terrorist last October, spoke with Arutz Sheva on Monday following a difficult Passover without her husband.

Sahban Wael At-Titi, who ran over Hasno, was originally indicted for manslaughter last month before that charge was upgraded to murder following the outrage of Ruti Hasno and her children.

Hasno, a 54-year-old resident of Kiryat Arba, was murdered at the Al Fawar junction near Hevron. After being ambushed by Arab rock throwers, Hasno left his vehicle to chase off his attackers, but was intentionally run over and murdered by At-Titi.

An Arutz Sheva analysis of photographic evidence of the incident captured by a Reuters photographer revealed the driver, who turned himself in to Palestinian police claiming it was an accident, ran over Hasno at least twice, in an act of cold-blooded murder. After Palestinian police released him in March, Israel arrested the terrorist.

Ruti Hasno told Arutz Sheva that the Passover seder “was very hard. It was alone without Avraham. Our seder night was really indescribable. Other than all the family, there are guests and the charoset that Avraham prepared and every year the children waited for it. So I tried a bit to prepare and I took it with us to Rehovot where we were (for the seder).”

But at a certain point Ruti’s spirit broke. “It’s hard. I just got up from the table, went up to the room, took a sleeping pill and ran from the seder night. But you can’t run – the dawn arrives.”

“Then good people tried to embrace me and encourage me that the holiday will pass – the children too, their crying was heartbreaking. On the one hand you need to strengthen the children and try to pass the holiday – on the other, you’re finished,” she said.

“How that works out together I don’t know, but you see that the Holy One blessed be He does everything. The holiday passed and we are busy trying to understand that Avraham isn’t here, that they murdered Avraham. We still haven’t grasped that.”

Abandoned by the army

Hasno harshly criticized the military establishment’s conduct regarding her husband’s murder, as At-Titi is tried at a military court.

“The army abandoned us. There was no accompaniment, no explanations – from the day Avraham was murdered there was no one to ask. There was no supporting shoulder in the IDF,” she revealed.

Currently the family is struggling to have the terrorist who murdered Avraham be convicted not only for manslaughter but for murder as well. To that end, they are pressuring the military prosecutor to take action.

“My husband was murdered and the whole country saw it,” Ruti said, noting on the photographic evidence of the crime. “Those who say ‘there’s no murder here’ – you have to say to them ‘what are you making a joke of us? Are you fooling yourselves?'”

She pointed out that “unfortunately everything is documented, the entire process they did they photographed.”

“What’s more, anyone who says there is no murder – that’s not something we’re even addressing. They aren’t normal if they see it all and say it wasn’t murder – they need to be taken to a psychiatrist.”

“Mister?”

When asked about her feelings ahead of the military court trial, she said, “I’m very angry about this whole process. It’s murdering Avraham twice. It’s murdering my children twice. We can’t pick ourselves up. We’re just scraps – and they’re crushing us more.”

“I don’t even know how to describe this feeling. I can’t breathe – you embrace the children all the time and try to give them the air that I have left to give and say, ‘it’s okay kids, we’ll continue onward from here.'”

Hasno spoke about the insensitivity of Judea-Samaria region military prosecutor Lt. Col. Morris Hirsh, who called her and informed her of the manslaughter indictment after it was already submitted.

“They murdered Avraham and I’m thinking of my children – the day they contacted us from the prosecutor I put the call on speaker and the children were there. He (Hirsh) said to me, ‘I want to speak with you about Mr. At-Titi.'”

“I just couldn’t grasp it,” she recalled. “Mr. At-Titi? This murderer, this scoundrel is a mister.”

According to the bereaved widow, “the problem starts from here. From this moment that they start to lift this murderer up and call him ‘mister.’ My children started to shout and said ‘hang up on him.'”

“Avraham will raise a ruckus up above”

Addressing the Jewish nation, Hasno said, “I want to tell the nation of Israel – even at the moment when they come and try to cover something up – don’t give in. Everyone must go with their truth, and the reins will be pulled from above.”

“Up above Avraham will raise a ruckus and no one can stop it. The justice and truth will come to light.”

Attorney Ofir Sabag is representing the family, and he spoke to Arutz Sheva about the legal struggle.

“In the territories of Judea and Samaria in practice Jordanian and British law as well as orders on security instructions are in effect,” he explained.

“The military prosecutor made a brave decision to accept the appeal as it is as a confession, given that a change in the indictment does not have weight. Before the court stands a precedent-setting and daring decision that can change the reality.” 

Sabag stated that the Judea-Samaria prosecutor has a “civil and moral obligation” in the case to prove that the terrorist identified Avraham and intentionally ran him down.

“I am in ongoing contact with the Judea-Samaria prosecutor and intend to continue to fight and prove that Avraham Asher Hasno z”l was murdered at a time when he was on his way to a doctor.”