Nearly two decades after Israeli father Ido Zoldan was murdered in a carefully planned roadside ambush, military prosecutors have charged a Palestinian terrorist accused of helping execute the attack.

Shadi Juma was indicted in a military court in Judea & Samaria for intentionally causing death while acting with others, the military-law equivalent of murder. Israeli forces arrested him in central Qalqilya shortly after the Palestinian Authority released him from nearly 19 years in custody. The operation followed an extended intelligence effort involving the IDF, Shin Bet and the Israel Police’s elite Gideonim Unit 33.

Zoldan, 29, was a former Golani Brigade officer, a resident of Shavei Shomron and the married father of two young children. He was driving home from a Torah study session when the terrorist cell targeted his vehicle near the Samaria village of Funduq.

According to the indictment, Juma and two accomplices obtained weapons, prepared a getaway vehicle and coordinated how the attack would be conducted. The terrorists agreed to confirm that their intended victim was Jewish before opening fire. After identifying Zoldan’s car, they pulled alongside it and one of the terrorists shot him at close range before the cell fled.

A previous military appeals-court ruling involving one of Juma’s alleged accomplices provides an even more disturbing account. The cell first attempted to shoot another Israeli motorist, but the attack failed because the rifle magazine had been inserted incorrectly. The terrorists then returned to the junction, followed Zoldan’s vehicle and fired approximately nine rounds from roughly three meters away. They later hid the weapon and vehicle and collected the shell casings.

Israeli security officials identified the three terrorists as members of the Palestinian Authority’s security forces. Two members of the cell, Abdullah Barham and Dafer Barham, were captured by Israel, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. They were later released in a 2025 hostage agreement with Hamas, according to Israeli reports. Juma remained imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority and was never transferred to Israel for prosecution.

Israeli forces were waiting when Juma emerged from PA custody. Undercover officers tracked his vehicle from the ground while aerial surveillance followed above, before armed units moved in and arrested him inside Qalqilya. He was transferred to the Shin Bet for interrogation.

The military prosecution said it has maintained contact with the Zoldan family and is ensuring that they receive the rights provided to victims under Israeli law.

The indictment does not undo the release of Juma’s convicted accomplices or return a husband and father to his family. It does, however, send a clear message: Israel’s pursuit of terrorists does not expire with time.