|
one of his killers Yosef Ben-David
|
|
Mohamed Abu Khudeir, 16, june 12 2014 Burned alive by settlers |
8 feb 2018
Supreme Court upholds verdict handed down two years ago by Jerusalem District Court, which sentenced Yosef Haim Ben David to a life term plus 20 years in prison after being convicted in the 2014 abduction and murder of Palestinian teen Muhammed Abu Khdeir; 'The murder can be defined as a strategic terror attack which ignited Jerusalem,' judges write.
The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal filed by Yosef Haim Ben David, who was sentenced two years ago to a life term plus 20 years in prison after being convicted in the 2014 abduction and murder of Palestinian teen Muhammed Abu Khdeir.
The decision was made by a panel of three judges, who also rejected an appeal filed by the minors convicted in the affair.
"The murder can be defined as a strategic terror attack which ignited Jerusalem in general, and east Jerusalem in particular," Justice Isaac Amit read from the ruling. "The murder calls for a profound self-examination in the Israeli society on how to deal with the racism phenomenon."
Hussein Abu Khdeir, Muhammed's father, welcomed the Supreme Court's decision. "I'm happy with the ruling," he said. "They burned not only Muhammed but an entire family. I went crazy when they appealed to have their sentence reduced. Had the sentence been mitigated, there would have been more criminals like them. I want Muhammed to be the last victim of such a crime. The murderers are like the Nazis who burned people."
Abu Khdeir’s murder sparked a wave of terrorism in Jerusalem. Ben-David and two minors, who were both convicted for their role in the murder, abducted the 16-year-old teenager and killed him after the funeral of the three Jewish teens Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Frenkel and Eyal Yifrach, who were kidnapped and murdered on June 12, 2014. A day earlier, the three defendants tried to kidnap seven-year-old Moussa Zaloum while he was walking down the street in Beit Hanina with his mother and two brothers.
The Jerusalem District Court also ordered Ben-David to pay NIS 150,000 in compensation to the Abu Khdeir family, and NIS 20,000 to Moussa Zaloum.
Shortly before his sentencing was announced, Ben-David apologized to the Abu Khdeir family for the first time, saying "Everything that happened was out of my control. It's not my character and not who I am. I apologize and ask for forgiveness."
Ben-David further noted that "in the past, I worked for ZAKA, I collected the remains of both Jews and Arabs. I've always sanctified human life and honored the dead."
Ben-David, 30, was convicted last month of the murder in July 2014 after a November court ruling found him responsible for his actions, but did not convict him because of a previous psychiatric assessment presented by his attorneys that questioned his sanity.
Abu Khdeir's father Hussein said the sentence was not enough, "We want him to stay in prison for the rest of his life and die there."
Members of the Abu Khdeir family who were at the sentencing hearing called out "death sentence" at Ben-David, adding that he's a "murderer," "racist," and "trash."
The Abu Khdeir family's lawyer, Muhand Jabariya, said he submitted a request to Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan to consider destroying Ben-David's house, as is commonly done by Israel as an act of deterrence against Palestinian terrorists.
The prosecution welcomed the sentencing, saying "Every person, of every religion and race, ought to know that if he commits such acts - whatever the ideology he claims to act in the name of - the law enforcement system will bring him to justice."
The prosecution initially sought an unusually harsh punishment of 60 years imprisonment: 12 for the kidnapping of Moussa Zaloum, 20 for the kidnapping of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, and three additional years for setting fire to vehicles.
Prosecutor Uri Korev from the Jerusalem District Attorney's Office stressed that unlike his two accomplices, Ben-David has not taken responsibility or expressed remorse for his actions.
"This is a man who dragged his relatives into committing a kidnapping and a murder of an innocent teenager. A man who committed incomprehensible and revolting acts. We didn't hear any remorse from the defendant. He committed these acts out of barbarous motives of revenge, and he's placing the responsibility for the acts on his accomplices, who are minors, and claims he is being falsely accused."
Ben-David's attorney, meanwhile, argued for diminished responsibility for his client due to the defendant's mental state.
According to the conviction, in the late evening hours of July 2, 2014, Ben-David and the two minors, after making preparations and equipping themselves in advance, headed out to commit the "revenge attack" in memory of the three yeshiva students.
They searched for a suitable victim for three hours in the neighborhoods of Wadi al-Joz and Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem until, around 4am, they saw Mohammed Abu Khdeir on his way to the mosque for morning prayers.
After snatching him, and while driving towards the Jerusalem forest, the two minors held onto Abu Khdeir, who struggled and tried to free himself, leading Ben-David to order one of them: "Finish him." The minor then strangled Abu Khdeir, until the latter lost consciousness.
When they reached the Jerusalem forest, one of the minors angrily told Ben-David that they "were doing all the work," following which Ben-David took a crowbar and started hitting Abu Khdeir with it, yelling "This is for the Fogel family, this is for Shalhevet Pass" (victims of terror attacks perpetrated by Palestinians -ed.) until the Palestinian teen started bleeding from his head. Ben-David also kicked Abu Khdeir several times while yelling "This is for Gil-Ad, Naftali, Eyal."
The three then set Abu Khdeir on fire while he was unconscious, and then fled the scene. They destroyed the evidence at Jerusalem's Sacher Park, and then went to Ben-David's home, where they played guitar and then went to sleep.
"The fact that the defendant searched for a victim, along with defendant 2, on the first night, and did the same on the second night, is indicative of his ideologically-motivated determination and conscious decision to take revenge, rather than uncontrollable obsession," the court said in its ruling. "The defendant was in control of all of the acts; he spurred others and encouraged them, and reacted rationally to everything that occurred. He gave instructions, and in the critical moment, when the victim was lying on the ground and breathing his final breathes, he kicked him and proclaimed the motives to this act of revenge."
The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal filed by Yosef Haim Ben David, who was sentenced two years ago to a life term plus 20 years in prison after being convicted in the 2014 abduction and murder of Palestinian teen Muhammed Abu Khdeir.
The decision was made by a panel of three judges, who also rejected an appeal filed by the minors convicted in the affair.
"The murder can be defined as a strategic terror attack which ignited Jerusalem in general, and east Jerusalem in particular," Justice Isaac Amit read from the ruling. "The murder calls for a profound self-examination in the Israeli society on how to deal with the racism phenomenon."
Hussein Abu Khdeir, Muhammed's father, welcomed the Supreme Court's decision. "I'm happy with the ruling," he said. "They burned not only Muhammed but an entire family. I went crazy when they appealed to have their sentence reduced. Had the sentence been mitigated, there would have been more criminals like them. I want Muhammed to be the last victim of such a crime. The murderers are like the Nazis who burned people."
Abu Khdeir’s murder sparked a wave of terrorism in Jerusalem. Ben-David and two minors, who were both convicted for their role in the murder, abducted the 16-year-old teenager and killed him after the funeral of the three Jewish teens Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Frenkel and Eyal Yifrach, who were kidnapped and murdered on June 12, 2014. A day earlier, the three defendants tried to kidnap seven-year-old Moussa Zaloum while he was walking down the street in Beit Hanina with his mother and two brothers.
The Jerusalem District Court also ordered Ben-David to pay NIS 150,000 in compensation to the Abu Khdeir family, and NIS 20,000 to Moussa Zaloum.
Shortly before his sentencing was announced, Ben-David apologized to the Abu Khdeir family for the first time, saying "Everything that happened was out of my control. It's not my character and not who I am. I apologize and ask for forgiveness."
Ben-David further noted that "in the past, I worked for ZAKA, I collected the remains of both Jews and Arabs. I've always sanctified human life and honored the dead."
Ben-David, 30, was convicted last month of the murder in July 2014 after a November court ruling found him responsible for his actions, but did not convict him because of a previous psychiatric assessment presented by his attorneys that questioned his sanity.
Abu Khdeir's father Hussein said the sentence was not enough, "We want him to stay in prison for the rest of his life and die there."
Members of the Abu Khdeir family who were at the sentencing hearing called out "death sentence" at Ben-David, adding that he's a "murderer," "racist," and "trash."
The Abu Khdeir family's lawyer, Muhand Jabariya, said he submitted a request to Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan to consider destroying Ben-David's house, as is commonly done by Israel as an act of deterrence against Palestinian terrorists.
The prosecution welcomed the sentencing, saying "Every person, of every religion and race, ought to know that if he commits such acts - whatever the ideology he claims to act in the name of - the law enforcement system will bring him to justice."
The prosecution initially sought an unusually harsh punishment of 60 years imprisonment: 12 for the kidnapping of Moussa Zaloum, 20 for the kidnapping of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, and three additional years for setting fire to vehicles.
Prosecutor Uri Korev from the Jerusalem District Attorney's Office stressed that unlike his two accomplices, Ben-David has not taken responsibility or expressed remorse for his actions.
"This is a man who dragged his relatives into committing a kidnapping and a murder of an innocent teenager. A man who committed incomprehensible and revolting acts. We didn't hear any remorse from the defendant. He committed these acts out of barbarous motives of revenge, and he's placing the responsibility for the acts on his accomplices, who are minors, and claims he is being falsely accused."
Ben-David's attorney, meanwhile, argued for diminished responsibility for his client due to the defendant's mental state.
According to the conviction, in the late evening hours of July 2, 2014, Ben-David and the two minors, after making preparations and equipping themselves in advance, headed out to commit the "revenge attack" in memory of the three yeshiva students.
They searched for a suitable victim for three hours in the neighborhoods of Wadi al-Joz and Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem until, around 4am, they saw Mohammed Abu Khdeir on his way to the mosque for morning prayers.
After snatching him, and while driving towards the Jerusalem forest, the two minors held onto Abu Khdeir, who struggled and tried to free himself, leading Ben-David to order one of them: "Finish him." The minor then strangled Abu Khdeir, until the latter lost consciousness.
When they reached the Jerusalem forest, one of the minors angrily told Ben-David that they "were doing all the work," following which Ben-David took a crowbar and started hitting Abu Khdeir with it, yelling "This is for the Fogel family, this is for Shalhevet Pass" (victims of terror attacks perpetrated by Palestinians -ed.) until the Palestinian teen started bleeding from his head. Ben-David also kicked Abu Khdeir several times while yelling "This is for Gil-Ad, Naftali, Eyal."
The three then set Abu Khdeir on fire while he was unconscious, and then fled the scene. They destroyed the evidence at Jerusalem's Sacher Park, and then went to Ben-David's home, where they played guitar and then went to sleep.
"The fact that the defendant searched for a victim, along with defendant 2, on the first night, and did the same on the second night, is indicative of his ideologically-motivated determination and conscious decision to take revenge, rather than uncontrollable obsession," the court said in its ruling. "The defendant was in control of all of the acts; he spurred others and encouraged them, and reacted rationally to everything that occurred. He gave instructions, and in the critical moment, when the victim was lying on the ground and breathing his final breathes, he kicked him and proclaimed the motives to this act of revenge."
14 aug 2017
Cousin of Mohammed Abu Khdeir—who was abducted and murdered by Jewish extremists—as well as two other accomplices charged with planning attacks against Israeli security forces, among other offenses.
Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 22, the cousin of the 16-year-old boy of the same name who was murdered in 2014 by Jewish extremists, and two other residents of the Shuafat neighborhood in east Jerusalem were charged Monday with planning attacks against Israeli security forces.
The Jerusalem District Attorney's Office filed an indictment against Abu Khdeir and his two accomplices, Abbas Salahi and Amro Ma’atouk, for multiple security offenses, including active membership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is desginated as a terror organization by Israel, the United States, Canada, Australia, and the European Union.
The three were indicted for conspiring to commit murder, attempting to illegally purchase weapons, possession of arms, shooting in residential areas, attempting to attack policemen, rioting and other offenses.
According to the indictment, the three met on several occasions between March 2017 and their arrest in July 2017 and conspired to carry out attacks against Israeli citizens.
Among other things, the defendants planned to carry out a shooting attack against Israeli vehicles traveling on the Nablus bypass and plant explosives on it. In addition, on several occasions, the defendants participated in riots and stone throwing at Israeli military forces.
Abu Khdeir has three previous convictions for rioting, attempting to attack police officers, vandalizing a vehicle and endangering human life. He already spent time in prison, and in 2015 he was sentenced to probation, which he is set to serve should he be found guilty of any of the aforementioned crimes.
Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 22, the cousin of the 16-year-old boy of the same name who was murdered in 2014 by Jewish extremists, and two other residents of the Shuafat neighborhood in east Jerusalem were charged Monday with planning attacks against Israeli security forces.
The Jerusalem District Attorney's Office filed an indictment against Abu Khdeir and his two accomplices, Abbas Salahi and Amro Ma’atouk, for multiple security offenses, including active membership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is desginated as a terror organization by Israel, the United States, Canada, Australia, and the European Union.
The three were indicted for conspiring to commit murder, attempting to illegally purchase weapons, possession of arms, shooting in residential areas, attempting to attack policemen, rioting and other offenses.
According to the indictment, the three met on several occasions between March 2017 and their arrest in July 2017 and conspired to carry out attacks against Israeli citizens.
Among other things, the defendants planned to carry out a shooting attack against Israeli vehicles traveling on the Nablus bypass and plant explosives on it. In addition, on several occasions, the defendants participated in riots and stone throwing at Israeli military forces.
Abu Khdeir has three previous convictions for rioting, attempting to attack police officers, vandalizing a vehicle and endangering human life. He already spent time in prison, and in 2015 he was sentenced to probation, which he is set to serve should he be found guilty of any of the aforementioned crimes.
5 july 2017
The Israeli High Court ruled Tuesday that three Jewish Israelis convicted of kidnapping, torturing and brutally murdering a Palestinian teenager by setting him on fire should not have their homes demolished.
The Court noted that “Jewish terrorism is different from Arab terrorism”, and the collective punishment measures used against the families of Palestinians who commit violence should not be used against Jewish Israelis who commit acts of political violence.
The three men – one adult and two minors – killed 16-year old Mohammed Abu Khdeir in June 2014. The teenager was kidnapped in the Shufat neighbourhood of occupied Jerusalem by Ben David of the illegal settlement Geva Binyamin and two assailants on 2 July 2014, Abu Khdeir was then beaten, forced to drink gasoline and burnt alive.
The autopsy found that gasoline was poured down Abu Khdeir’s throat and that there was soot in his lungs which shows that he was still breathing as his attackers burnt him alive. The autopsy also found that he was repeatedly beaten over the head with a sharp object, most likely a tire iron or a wrench.
Two days prior to Abu Khdeir’s abduction the group attempted to kidnap a 7-year-old boy Moussa Zaloum although he was able to escape with the help of his mother. The family reported the attempted kidnapping to Israeli police although they did not investigate the incident.
Three days after the attack, Muhammad’s cousin, 15-year-old American citizen Tariq Abu Khdeir was detained and brutally beaten by Israeli border police, an event caught on camera, before being released.
The Israeli government has a policy of demolishing the homes of Palestinians who carry out attacks against Israelis – as well as demolishing their family members’ homes. The government claims that this acts as a ‘deterrent’ against future attacks, but there is no evidence to support that claim.
In addition, this use of punitive home demolitions is a type of collective punishment, which is illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory.
Ben-David, the one person named in the murder of Abu Khdeir, is serving a life sentence for murder, and has to pay restitution to the family of the boy he killed, worth about $40,000.
The father of Mohammed Abu Khdeir says that he is angry about the Israeli court ruling, and will take the case to the International Court in the Hague.
The Court noted that “Jewish terrorism is different from Arab terrorism”, and the collective punishment measures used against the families of Palestinians who commit violence should not be used against Jewish Israelis who commit acts of political violence.
The three men – one adult and two minors – killed 16-year old Mohammed Abu Khdeir in June 2014. The teenager was kidnapped in the Shufat neighbourhood of occupied Jerusalem by Ben David of the illegal settlement Geva Binyamin and two assailants on 2 July 2014, Abu Khdeir was then beaten, forced to drink gasoline and burnt alive.
The autopsy found that gasoline was poured down Abu Khdeir’s throat and that there was soot in his lungs which shows that he was still breathing as his attackers burnt him alive. The autopsy also found that he was repeatedly beaten over the head with a sharp object, most likely a tire iron or a wrench.
Two days prior to Abu Khdeir’s abduction the group attempted to kidnap a 7-year-old boy Moussa Zaloum although he was able to escape with the help of his mother. The family reported the attempted kidnapping to Israeli police although they did not investigate the incident.
Three days after the attack, Muhammad’s cousin, 15-year-old American citizen Tariq Abu Khdeir was detained and brutally beaten by Israeli border police, an event caught on camera, before being released.
The Israeli government has a policy of demolishing the homes of Palestinians who carry out attacks against Israelis – as well as demolishing their family members’ homes. The government claims that this acts as a ‘deterrent’ against future attacks, but there is no evidence to support that claim.
In addition, this use of punitive home demolitions is a type of collective punishment, which is illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory.
Ben-David, the one person named in the murder of Abu Khdeir, is serving a life sentence for murder, and has to pay restitution to the family of the boy he killed, worth about $40,000.
The father of Mohammed Abu Khdeir says that he is angry about the Israeli court ruling, and will take the case to the International Court in the Hague.
3 mar 2017
Reshet Bet Hebrew radio reported that Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) refuses to demolish the house of Yousif Haim Ben-David, who brutally murdered and burned to death the 16-year-old Palestinian Muhammad Abu Khdeir on July 2, 2014.
The IOA claimed that it would consider demolition of Jewish terrorists' homes in the future if Jewish terror became more widespread.
The IOA told the Israeli high Court that “if the situation changed, and Jewish terror became more widespread, they would potentially revisit the issue and be ready to demolish Jewish terrorists' houses”.
The IOA claimed that it would consider demolition of Jewish terrorists' homes in the future if Jewish terror became more widespread.
The IOA told the Israeli high Court that “if the situation changed, and Jewish terror became more widespread, they would potentially revisit the issue and be ready to demolish Jewish terrorists' houses”.
21 nov 2016
Discussions held in light of a petition filed by family of Mohammed Abu Khdeir calling for the demolition of his murderers' homes; state lawyer argues policy not warranted as a deterrence measure, while family attorney cites 'double standards.'
The High Court of Justice held discussions on Monday on whether the policy of home demolition should be extend to Jewish murders of Arabs. The talks took place on the heels of a petition submitted by the family of Mohammed Abu Khdeir ,16—who was kidnapped and brutally murdered by Jewish terrorists in July 2014—calling for the homes of the culprits to be destroyed.
The policy is frequently carried out as a deterrence measure against Palestinians who have committed terrorist attacks.
During the discussions, the High Court justices posed difficult questions to representatives of the state by asking if, and why, different protocol should be applied to Arabs and Jews committing acts of terror.
“There can’t be double standards. There has to be a demolition of the houses of murderers,” said the lawyer representing the Khdeir family.
The state representative rebuffed the point by stating that the demolitions are designed to serve as a deterrence and prevent the next murder.
Taking this point further, Justice Neal Hendel responded by asking, “What does it matter to me if it is an Arab or a Jew?,” if indeed the policy is intended to prevent a murder. “If we say that we are prepared to employ this policy against a specific group of people and not against another it raises certain problems.”
Offering an answer to the question, which has long been asked in the Israeli establishment and society as a whole, the state lawyer cited the revulsion felt by the families of Khdeir’s killers which rendered the need to issue a demolition order pointless.
“It is said that in Arab society there are more supporters and that the deterrence will be infinitely stronger,” said Elyakim Rubinstein, vice president of the High Court. “But still, since there are extremists in Jewish society that have done these kinds of terrible things, even if the deterrence is carried out on the assumption that it will influence a small number people, it will still save lives,” he posited.
Elyakim then laid out a hypothetical situation to illustrate the point. “If five attackers in the Jewish society planned five separate attacks and three of them are deterred from doing so because they don’t want to lose their homes, we have achieved something.”
Justice Hendel was also reluctant to accept the apparent discrimination existing between the state’s responses to terrorists of different religions and ethnicities.
“If this is the result for Arabs but not for Jews, we need to ask ourselves whether we are asking the right questions: are there standards? Because unfortunately, we are not dealing with one or two cases, there are more. So why not ask this?”
The state lawyer rejected the notion that the culprits should be treated on an even footing by propounding that the scope of the phenomenon of terrorism remains disparate for Arabs and Jews.
The claim prompted Justice Zvi Zilbertal to ask, “If it’s possible to prevent one murder through preventative action, will they do it only after 20 murderous attacks are be carried out? When we’re talking about human life, it is not the quantity that counts.”
Justice Hendel echoed his sentiment by adding, “If it can prevent five murders, then it is justified. It would be justified if it prevented even one such incident.”
Justice Rubenstein noted that while it is quite possible that home demolition in this particular case may not be warranted, the possibility of its application to other incidents involving Jewish terrorists should not be ruled out.
The state’s attorney responded by saying, “The state has not said that this mechanism could not be implemented with Jews. If a change were to occur, the circumstances would be considered, and a different decision could be reached, if God forbid there would be a Jewish wave of terrorism.”
The High Court of Justice held discussions on Monday on whether the policy of home demolition should be extend to Jewish murders of Arabs. The talks took place on the heels of a petition submitted by the family of Mohammed Abu Khdeir ,16—who was kidnapped and brutally murdered by Jewish terrorists in July 2014—calling for the homes of the culprits to be destroyed.
The policy is frequently carried out as a deterrence measure against Palestinians who have committed terrorist attacks.
During the discussions, the High Court justices posed difficult questions to representatives of the state by asking if, and why, different protocol should be applied to Arabs and Jews committing acts of terror.
“There can’t be double standards. There has to be a demolition of the houses of murderers,” said the lawyer representing the Khdeir family.
The state representative rebuffed the point by stating that the demolitions are designed to serve as a deterrence and prevent the next murder.
Taking this point further, Justice Neal Hendel responded by asking, “What does it matter to me if it is an Arab or a Jew?,” if indeed the policy is intended to prevent a murder. “If we say that we are prepared to employ this policy against a specific group of people and not against another it raises certain problems.”
Offering an answer to the question, which has long been asked in the Israeli establishment and society as a whole, the state lawyer cited the revulsion felt by the families of Khdeir’s killers which rendered the need to issue a demolition order pointless.
“It is said that in Arab society there are more supporters and that the deterrence will be infinitely stronger,” said Elyakim Rubinstein, vice president of the High Court. “But still, since there are extremists in Jewish society that have done these kinds of terrible things, even if the deterrence is carried out on the assumption that it will influence a small number people, it will still save lives,” he posited.
Elyakim then laid out a hypothetical situation to illustrate the point. “If five attackers in the Jewish society planned five separate attacks and three of them are deterred from doing so because they don’t want to lose their homes, we have achieved something.”
Justice Hendel was also reluctant to accept the apparent discrimination existing between the state’s responses to terrorists of different religions and ethnicities.
“If this is the result for Arabs but not for Jews, we need to ask ourselves whether we are asking the right questions: are there standards? Because unfortunately, we are not dealing with one or two cases, there are more. So why not ask this?”
The state lawyer rejected the notion that the culprits should be treated on an even footing by propounding that the scope of the phenomenon of terrorism remains disparate for Arabs and Jews.
The claim prompted Justice Zvi Zilbertal to ask, “If it’s possible to prevent one murder through preventative action, will they do it only after 20 murderous attacks are be carried out? When we’re talking about human life, it is not the quantity that counts.”
Justice Hendel echoed his sentiment by adding, “If it can prevent five murders, then it is justified. It would be justified if it prevented even one such incident.”
Justice Rubenstein noted that while it is quite possible that home demolition in this particular case may not be warranted, the possibility of its application to other incidents involving Jewish terrorists should not be ruled out.
The state’s attorney responded by saying, “The state has not said that this mechanism could not be implemented with Jews. If a change were to occur, the circumstances would be considered, and a different decision could be reached, if God forbid there would be a Jewish wave of terrorism.”
16 sept 2016
Two years after their son's gruesome murder, the family of slain Muhammad Abu Khdeir announced their intent to appeal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to sue the Israeli criminals for burning their son alive.
Earlier, the family appealed to the Israeli High Court to demolish the homes of the Israeli perpetrators in an attempt to force the Israeli occupation authorities to treat Israeli criminals and Palestinian anti-occupation attackers with the same measures.
16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir was kidnapped by Israeli settler gangs a couple of years ago from the Shu’fat refugee camp, in northern Occupied Jerusalem, and was burned to death.
His father Hussein Abu Khdeir said in case his appeals are turned down by the Israeli court, he will sue the Israeli criminals at the ICC.
Hussein Abu Khdeir slammed the Israeli prosecution for rejecting the family’s appeals to demolish the homes of the three Israeli terrorists who kidnapped and burned his son alive.
Days after the sentencing of the main suspect, Ben David, in May 2016, Abu Khdeir appealed to the then war minister Moshe Yaalon to demand the demolition of the homes of all three Israeli perpetrators so as to reduce the phenomenon of terrorism against innocent Palestinians.
The court decision falls in line with a similar decision announced by the former Israeli war minister who declined to demolish the homes of the Israeli assailants, saying the case of Israeli extremism was exceptional and did not enjoy support of Israeli society.
By contrast, demolishing homes of Palestinian assailants served as a deterrent because anti-occupation acts are widely supported by Palestinian society, according to the minister.
Observes said Israeli terrorism has been on the rise and requires harsher tactics, naming a 2015 attack by Israeli arsonists on the Dawabsheh family home in the Palestinian village of Duma, which killed an 18-month toddler and his parents.
On Thursday, the Israeli daily Haaretz also said Israel told the High Court that the homes of the three murderers of Mohammed Abu Khdeir should not be demolished, claiming that the decision does not, in any possible way, amount to an act of racism.
Earlier, the family appealed to the Israeli High Court to demolish the homes of the Israeli perpetrators in an attempt to force the Israeli occupation authorities to treat Israeli criminals and Palestinian anti-occupation attackers with the same measures.
16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir was kidnapped by Israeli settler gangs a couple of years ago from the Shu’fat refugee camp, in northern Occupied Jerusalem, and was burned to death.
His father Hussein Abu Khdeir said in case his appeals are turned down by the Israeli court, he will sue the Israeli criminals at the ICC.
Hussein Abu Khdeir slammed the Israeli prosecution for rejecting the family’s appeals to demolish the homes of the three Israeli terrorists who kidnapped and burned his son alive.
Days after the sentencing of the main suspect, Ben David, in May 2016, Abu Khdeir appealed to the then war minister Moshe Yaalon to demand the demolition of the homes of all three Israeli perpetrators so as to reduce the phenomenon of terrorism against innocent Palestinians.
The court decision falls in line with a similar decision announced by the former Israeli war minister who declined to demolish the homes of the Israeli assailants, saying the case of Israeli extremism was exceptional and did not enjoy support of Israeli society.
By contrast, demolishing homes of Palestinian assailants served as a deterrent because anti-occupation acts are widely supported by Palestinian society, according to the minister.
Observes said Israeli terrorism has been on the rise and requires harsher tactics, naming a 2015 attack by Israeli arsonists on the Dawabsheh family home in the Palestinian village of Duma, which killed an 18-month toddler and his parents.
On Thursday, the Israeli daily Haaretz also said Israel told the High Court that the homes of the three murderers of Mohammed Abu Khdeir should not be demolished, claiming that the decision does not, in any possible way, amount to an act of racism.
9 aug 2016
Eliraz Fein, a 24-year-old resident of the West Bank, has been charged for repeated posts to Facebook that allegedly incite violence against IDF soldiers and Arabs.
An indictment was filed today in the Petach Tikvah Magistrates' Court against 24-year-old Eliraz Fein of Yitzhar in Samaria (near Nablus) for incitement to violence.
The Ministry of Justice said that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit authorized the indictment in light of the nature of the crimes attributed to the defendant "that touch on freedom of expression."
The indictment was filed by Roi Weiss of the Central District Attorney's Office. It claims that, following the forced evacuation and destruction of illegal buildings in Yitzhar in 2014, a discussion took place on a Google group called "Yitzharnikim." The discussion focused on the legitimacy of throwing stones at Israeli security forces. Hours after Fein posted that she supported the violent act, stones were thrown at Yasam (riot police) units in the city.
The indictment further stated that following the kidnapping and murder of the three teenage boys in Gush Etzion in 2014, the lynching of Mohammed Abu Khdeir in 2014, and the arson attack in Duma that killed three members of the Dawabsheh family in 2015, Fein posted to Facebook calls for violent acts or terrorism against Palestinian and Israeli Arabs and messages condoning the reported acts.
The charges allege that Fein did the above after she had already been questioned under caution and arrested for previous, similar posts.
In July 2014, on the murder of Abu Khdeir, the accused allegedly wrote to her approximately 800 friends on Facebook, "I'm proud and happy to discover there are Jews who couldn't stand by and be silent! I send strong and courageous blessings to those arrested (who I don't know at all) accused of murdering the Arabs from the Abu Khdeir family."
In June 2015, following the arson attack on the Church of the Multiplication, Fein allegedly wrote, "Hey, happy people, good morning! This time a church to take into consideration the Muslims' feelings, Ramadan Kareem to you too."
After the arson attack in Duma with Molotov cocktails, Fein allegedly wrote on Facebook in August 2015, "Terrify them and make them understand that Jewish blood is not worthless, for murder the enemy will be bathed in blood," "I see this as a right and proper act," and "It's very appropriate and honorable in my eyes to damage Arab property."
Fein replied to the indictment, "It's weird that only today the DA 'remembered' to update me, put out messages to all the media and even prevented me from the hearing that I'm entitled to according to the law.
Like I already said at the arrest, I say again that we love all IDF soldiers, we embrace them and support them with everything that we have. Dozens of soldiers have enjoyed cakes that I've made, I have many brothers and relatives in the IDF, some of them in select reconnaissance units, and I never thought about hurting IDF soldiers."
An indictment was filed today in the Petach Tikvah Magistrates' Court against 24-year-old Eliraz Fein of Yitzhar in Samaria (near Nablus) for incitement to violence.
The Ministry of Justice said that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit authorized the indictment in light of the nature of the crimes attributed to the defendant "that touch on freedom of expression."
The indictment was filed by Roi Weiss of the Central District Attorney's Office. It claims that, following the forced evacuation and destruction of illegal buildings in Yitzhar in 2014, a discussion took place on a Google group called "Yitzharnikim." The discussion focused on the legitimacy of throwing stones at Israeli security forces. Hours after Fein posted that she supported the violent act, stones were thrown at Yasam (riot police) units in the city.
The indictment further stated that following the kidnapping and murder of the three teenage boys in Gush Etzion in 2014, the lynching of Mohammed Abu Khdeir in 2014, and the arson attack in Duma that killed three members of the Dawabsheh family in 2015, Fein posted to Facebook calls for violent acts or terrorism against Palestinian and Israeli Arabs and messages condoning the reported acts.
The charges allege that Fein did the above after she had already been questioned under caution and arrested for previous, similar posts.
In July 2014, on the murder of Abu Khdeir, the accused allegedly wrote to her approximately 800 friends on Facebook, "I'm proud and happy to discover there are Jews who couldn't stand by and be silent! I send strong and courageous blessings to those arrested (who I don't know at all) accused of murdering the Arabs from the Abu Khdeir family."
In June 2015, following the arson attack on the Church of the Multiplication, Fein allegedly wrote, "Hey, happy people, good morning! This time a church to take into consideration the Muslims' feelings, Ramadan Kareem to you too."
After the arson attack in Duma with Molotov cocktails, Fein allegedly wrote on Facebook in August 2015, "Terrify them and make them understand that Jewish blood is not worthless, for murder the enemy will be bathed in blood," "I see this as a right and proper act," and "It's very appropriate and honorable in my eyes to damage Arab property."
Fein replied to the indictment, "It's weird that only today the DA 'remembered' to update me, put out messages to all the media and even prevented me from the hearing that I'm entitled to according to the law.
Like I already said at the arrest, I say again that we love all IDF soldiers, we embrace them and support them with everything that we have. Dozens of soldiers have enjoyed cakes that I've made, I have many brothers and relatives in the IDF, some of them in select reconnaissance units, and I never thought about hurting IDF soldiers."
