Israeli Convicted of Murder of Palestinian Teen
Jerusalem (TPS) – The Jerusalem District Court convicted Yosef Chaim Ben David on Tuesday morning of the abduction and murder of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir in July of 2014, an incident that rattled the region and played a key role in the escalating tensions leading up to the summer war in Gaza.
Ben David, 29 years old from the community of Adam, was the central suspect in the murder, along with two other minors. His verdict was delayed by several months to determine his mental state, following claims by his lawyers that he was mentally ill and not responsible for his actions.
The court, however, ruled that Ben David “was not in a psychotic state, fully understood what he was doing, had control over his actions and had the ability to refrain from committing the crime.”
Abu Khdeir was 14 years old when he was abducted and burned alive in Jerusalem by three Israeli Jews. The murderers claimed that they wished to avenge the kidnapping and murder of three Jewish by Palestinian terrorists just days earlier. The two atrocities sent tensions soaring between Israelis and Palestinians, which culminated in the 2014 Gaza campaign Operation Protective Edge.
Ben David’s two nephews, 16 and 17 years old, were convicted in January of committing the murder along with him. One of them received a life sentence, while the other was sentenced to 21 years in prison after the court ruled that he played a lesser role in the murder.
Before the verdict, Abu Khdeir’s father Hussein said that his son’s murderers should have their homes demolished, in keeping with Israeli policy of demolishing the homes of Palestinian terrorists. “We need justice from the court,” he said. “These murderers should have their homes demolished. Such people cannot be granted parole. He needs to serve a life sentence.”
Following the conviction, the state prosecution released a statement saying that Ben David committed the murder “out of nationalistic vengeful motives, also dragging his underage relatives with him who participated in the heinous crime and were sentenced to many years behind bars.”