TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Israeli prosecutors want a longer prison sentence for a soldier sentenced to eight years for shooting a British peace activist.
Tom Hurndall lingered for months in a coma after being shot in the head in 2003 in the Gaza Strip as he shepherded a group of Palestinian children away from Israeli tanks. He died in a British hospital.
Sgt. Taysir Hayb was convicted of manslaughter. His lawyer told the newspaper Ha'aretz that Hayb was a "scapegoat," targeted by prosecutors because the shooting received so much international attention.
But Jocelyn Hurndall, the victim's mother, welcomed the prosecution call for a longer term.
"The Israeli defense force has gone a long way to improving their credibility in the world," she told the Sunday Telegraph. "Eight years is really very little if one takes international law into account."
