Finally, we doubt whether there was room for senior police officers to participate in a television program that covered and reviewed the proceedings even before the evidence stage. The policemen's explanations on this matter were comprehensive, and it is difficult to understand how they chose to participate in this program, to relate specifically to the evidence and the witnesses' versions, all before the first witness took the witness stand. We have not yet understood how the accuser's counsel was not informed of this and why they were not consulted prior to the broadcast of the program. None of us watched the plan in question and did not have any impact on our determinations; It is possible that the competent authorities should find out how the program was broadcast, and draw the necessary lessons from it.
The Legal Aspect
Section 301A(a)(1) of the Penal Law states that anyone who causes the death of a person, intentionally or indifferently, after planning or after an actual process of weighing and formulating a decision to kill, is liable to life imprisonment and this punishment only.
Section 301a(a)(7) of the Penal Law states that anyone who causes the death of a person, intentionally or indifferently, with special cruelty, or by physically or mentally abusing the victim, is liable to life imprisonment and this punishment only.
Naturally, in view of the nature of the dispute, we have so far examined whether the factual element of the offense existed in our case - whether the defendant caused the death of the deceased, to which we have answered in the affirmative. We will therefore conclude that it has been proven before us beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant stabbed the deceased together with another and caused his death.
With regard to the mental element of the offense of murder, we should note, in summary, that the offense of murder today does not distinguish between a mental element of intention and a mental element of indifference (Criminal Appeal 7905/23 Kalasani v. State of Israel (February 16, 2025). The offense of murder in aggravated circumstances requires, regardless of whether the act was committed intentionally or indifferently, the imposition of a life sentence (Criminal Appeal 8577/22 Yafimov v. State of Israel (April 21, 2024)). In our case, no one has argued on this matter, and in any event, in light of all that has been proven before us, it is clear that the actions of the defendant and the other were planned in advance, and it is clear that they were carried out after an actual process of weighing and formulating a decision to kill. Therefore, the aggravating circumstance set forth in section 301A(a)(1) was proven.