An Israeli soldier was today jailed for eight years for the manslaughter of a British student in Gaza, the longest sentence imposed on any member of the Israeli Defence Forces during the five-year intifada.

Sergeant Taysir Haib was found guilty of killing Tom Hurndall, a 22-year-old photojournalism student who was killed by a single bullet to the head as he was ushering Palestinian children to safety in the flashpoint town of Rafah in April 2003.

The court noted that it was the first time an Israeli soldier has been convicted of manslaughter while on duty in a combat zone. But it held back from the maximum 20-year sentence, saying it did not want to lend weight to accusations that the young Bedouin sniper was being scapegoated.

Mr Hurndall’s mother Jocelyn complained the sentence was too lenient, and said Sergeant Haib, 22, should have been prosecuted for murder. "That is a cop-out. He undeniably is a scapegoat," she said.

But the UK Government welcomed the court's decision. Ian Pearson, the Foreign Office Minister, said in a statement: "The British Government welcomes the decision to convict the soldier who killed Tom Hurndall. We hope that the Hurndall family will draw some comfort from the conviction and sentencing of Sergeant Taysir [Haib] today for the unlawful death of their son."

Sergeant Haib received seven years for manslaughter, and an additional year for obstruction of justice. He was also found guilty of submitting false testimony, obtaining false testimony and conduct unbecoming a soldier.

Mr Hurndall, 22, from Tufnell Park, North London, was an activist with the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement.

The court heard that after altering his account the award-winning sniper finally told investigators that he fired a warning shot four inches to the left of the Briton’s ear to stop him approaching the watchtower, "but he moved".

Passing sentence, Colonel Nir Aviram said that the military tribunal was "impressed by the depth of the defendant’s love for the nation and his pride at serving in the Israeli Defence Forces".

"But the fact remains that while on a mission of national defence, he deliberately fired one shot that took the life of an innocent man who posed him no threat whatsoever," he added.

Colonel Nir said that the sentence needed to reflect the "severity of the defendant’s crime which contradicts the values of the Israel Defence Forces and the supreme value of the sanctity of human life."

But he said that Sergeant Haib suffered from"difficult life circumstances" and showed "low personal cognitive characteristics".

"We cannot ignore precedents and previous court martial rulings. The defence quoted the father of the victim, Mr Anthony Hurndall, who expressed the view that the defendant is a 'scapegoat'. Therefore an unduly severe punishment would lend credence to this allegation."

The Hurndall family expressed outrage today after hearing that Sergeant Taysir was earlier convicted of illegal use of a weapon after firing into the air near his home, and of drug offences.

"How can a responsible and moral army allow that to happen?" said Mrs Hurndall. "How can you talk about openness and transparency, which they claim, when they allow that to happen?

"We have not been told the truth. There have been constraints and barriers put in our way and a reluctance by the Israel military to seek out the truth."

Israeli human rights groups say that Israeli prosecutions are extremely rare, claiming that the army has investigated fewer than 5 per cent of the killings of Palestinian civilians since the start of the intifada.

Sergeant Taysir insists that he was obeying orders and was singled out because he is an Arab, and the victim was British.

The soldier's mother, Na’amat, collapsed on the courtroom stairs after the sentence, as the defence confirmed that he would appeal. "Even the Hurndall family said he was a scapegoat of the system," said Ilan Bamboch.

"As the court put it, it is not enough to punish the poor soldier who doesn’t have the mental and psychological skills to function properly as the commander in the position in which he was put by the IDF."

Times Recommends

• Mandela’s tribe threatens President Zuma
• The French empire strikes back
• Wife of cheating governor exacts a political revenge