A Jerusalem court yesterday convicted two Israeli youths in the grisly killing last year of 16-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Abu Khdeir, while delaying the verdict for the third and chief suspect in the case due to a last-minute insanity plea.
The killing of Abu Khdeir, who was burned to death, was in revenge for the killing of three Israeli teens in the West Bank — slayings that set off a chain of events that led to the 50-day Gaza war in the summer of 2014.
Yesterday’s verdict could further increase Israeli-Palestinian tensions amid a two-month wave of violence that has been convulsing the region.
In the ruling, Judge Jacob Zaban of Jerusalem’s District Court determined that the ringleader, 31-year-old Yosef Haim Ben David, and two Israeli minors — whose names were not released — snatched Abu Khdeir off an east Jerusalem sidewalk in July 2014 and burned him alive in a forest west of the city.
The judge determined that Ben David drove the car while his two accomplices beat Abu Khdeir unconscious in the back seat. Once they reached the forest, one accomplice helped Ben David douse Abu Khdeir with gasoline. Then Ben David lit the match, according to Zaban.
The Palestinian youth’s death triggered violent protests and was a milestone in an escalation of violence that led to the Israel-Hamas war. The three suspects were arrested shortly after the July 2, 2014 abduction and confessed to the killing to investigators with Israel’s Shin Bet, the security agency said. Daniella Cheslow, Jerusalem, AP
israel suspends contact with some eu groups over labeling
Israel on Sunday suspended contacts with European Union representatives on Mideast peace issues to protest the 28-nation bloc’s decision to label Israeli exports from the West Bank. Israel has been up in arms since the EU announced last month that goods produced in settlements must have special labels and cannot say they were made in Israel. Israel has said the decision is discriminatory and unfairly singles out the country, while the EU says it is a technical matter to clarify the origins of the products. Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced late Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered contacts frozen until a “reassessment process is completed.”
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