Conviction of Two Accused in the Murder of a Palestinian Teen in Israeli Court

On Monday, December 9, the Israeli court convicted two of the three Jewish suspects accused of murdering and burning alive a 16-year-old Palestinian teenager. However, these two convicted individuals are under 18 years old, and their punishment will not be easy; the sentencing for the main perpetrator has been postponed due to 'evaluation of his mental condition.' The abduction and burning of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir in early summer 2014, on July 2, sparked a wave of anger and protests from Palestinians. A few months after the murder, Israeli police and security forces identified and arrested six members of an extremist Jewish family. Three of the six 'Jewish terrorists' were brought to trial, which lasted several months. On Monday, three judges from the Jerusalem court announced that the three murderers had sought to kill Palestinians for 'revenge.' On the other hand, since the two convicted individuals are under 18, determining their punishment requires a lengthy legal process. Psychologists hired by the defense team suddenly claimed just four days before the verdict that 'Yosef Haim Ben David,' 30, the main suspect in the murder, should undergo psychiatric evaluations. Yosef Haim Ben David is the only main suspect over 18 years old, whom the three judges described as the main killer, while the two convicted under 18 were found guilty of aiding the murder. Meanwhile, the court allowed time to review the psychologists' claims until the sentencing of Yosef Haim Ben David. Arab lawyers representing the Abu Khdeir family stated that 'the Israeli judiciary supports Jewish murderers.' Many relatives of the Abu Khdeir family, who live in the Palestinian area north of Jerusalem, attended the Jerusalem court. The father of the victim told the media: 'Now Israel should demolish the homes of these terrorists just as it destroys the homes of Palestinians involved in attacks against Jews.' Mr. Abu Khdeir expressed 'concern' that the court might ultimately acquit Ben David; he said: 'The court process was a grand facade and deception.' The murderers claimed that they kidnapped and killed Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir in retaliation for the abduction and murder of three Jewish teenagers in late spring of the previous year. These murderers were also accused of attempting to kidnap a 7-year-old Palestinian boy the day before Abu Khdeir's abduction. Following the murder of three Jewish teenagers by two Hamas-affiliated members in the West Bank and the subsequent killing of Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir, the crisis between Israel and Palestinians escalated, leading to a war by the Israeli army in Gaza; in an approximately two-month operation, over 2,400 Palestinians were killed, and large parts of Gaza were destroyed. Meanwhile, Israel has yet to identify the murderers of the Palestinian 'Dawabsheh' family and the burning of their 18-month-old infant, followed by the death of the parents. In the early morning of July 9, 2015, extremist settlers threw Molotov cocktails into the 'Dawabsheh' home in the Palestinian village of 'Duma,' resulting in the infant being burned alive, and later, the baby's parents died in an Israeli hospital; another 4-year-old child from the family survived after several months in the hospital. The Israeli Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, in response to numerous questions about the apparent failure of security agencies to capture the murderers of the 'Dawabsheh' family, claimed that 'the utmost effort' has been made, but 'Jewish terrorists' have not been found. Less than two months after the 'Dawabsheh' family incident, a crisis erupted that has now entered its third month; every day, several Palestinian teenagers and young people attack Israelis with knives or by car. In this new round of crisis, 23 Israelis and over 100 Palestinians have been killed so far. Moshe Ya'alon, the Israeli Minister of Defense, recently acknowledged that this crisis will continue for weeks, and no end can be anticipated in the near future.