The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday sentenced Haim Sirotkin, a soccer coach who was convicted of ramming his car into a crowd of anti-government protesters in 2024, to a year in prison for reckless endangerment with a vehicle.

Sirotkin, 52, will also have his license suspended for four years.

In addition, he will have to pay damages of NIS 20,000 ($6,800) to one of the people injured – a woman of around 60, who suffered a head injury and four broken ribs – and NIS 4,000 ($1,360) each to four others.

The five protesters were making their way from a protest that night – April 7, 2024 – against the government and in favor of a hostage deal with the Hamas terror group, which at the time held some 130 captives, living and deceased.

After the incident, Sirotkin claimed he did not mean to hurt anyone, and that he had lost control of his vehicle as a result of a malfunction.

In his sentencing decision, Judge Itai Hermelin noted that the accused did not maintain this claim during the trial.

תיעוד דריסת המפגינים בתל אביב. 5 נפגעו. הנהג נעצר לאחר שברח מהמקום צילום: איתי רזיאל pic.twitter.com/t8Lc54tbfZ Advertisement if(typeof rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner != "function" ||........

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