A Palestinian who was convicted in early February for murdering a 29-year-old pregnant Israeli woman, Michal Halimi, last summer was given a life sentence Sunday and another five years that will be served for other crimes he committed.

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In addition, Mohammed Harouf, a resident of Nablus, was ordered by the Tel Aviv District Court to pay NIS 258,000 compensation to the Halimi family.

Harouf confessed to the charges against him and was convicted as part of a plea bargain.

Mohammed Harouf and Michal Halimi. Murdered for being Jewish (Photo: Yair Sagi)

The plea bargain signed by Harouf attributed the murder to nationalistic motivations despite the fact that the original indictment was devoid of such charges.

“Due to the plea bargain an amended indictment was served in which the defendant confessed to the facts of the amended indictment and was convicted,” said presiding Judge Raanan Ben-Yosef at the conclusion of the sentencing.

“According to the amended indictment, after words were exchanged in a telephone conversation between them the decision was made by him to murder Halimi for nationalistic reasons,” he continued.

“The punishment of a plea bargain is insufficient. He is a cruel murderer. It is only due to the fact that we are aware of the importance of the plea bargain did we not reject it and respected it by placing a question mark over it.”

Michal Halimi's grave (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Harouf, he added, received a lighter sentence by dint of the fact that “the state did not seek to determine in the ruling that the murder was an act of terror according to the law.”

“It was not evidentiary difficulties led to a plea bargain,” he emphasized. “The evidence was there.”

Harouf was arrested last August on suspicion of murdering Halimi from Geva Binyamin. She went missing on May 23 for two months and her body was eventually found near the city of Holon.

The murder scene in Holon (Photo: Israel Police)

According to Harouf, he met Halimi in Holon before strangling her, striking her in the head with a rock and covering her body in the sand before leaving the site in the victim's vehicle. The court sentenced him, along with murder, for stealing a vehicle, conspiracy to commit a crime, attempted fraud using a debit card and entering Israel illegally.

“The convict murdered (Halimi) when she was carrying a baby in her womb, strangled her and threw rocks on her. He didn’t even bury her and left her covered in leaves, sand and wheels,” said the prosecution during previous court discussions.

Michal Halimi went missing in May of last year. Police launched an investigation which revealed that she had left her home voluntarily and was likely staying in the home of a young Palestinian from Nablus who she was involved with. The two posted joint photos on Facebook and announced their intention to get engaged.

On July 24, Halimi's body was found in the Holon area following an extensive search.