Two Israelis sentenced for burning Palestinian boy alive

A court sentenced two Israelis to life and 21 years in prison on Thursday for the 2014 burning alive of 16-year-old Palestinian Mohammad Abu Khdeir.

The two Israelis sentenced and a third man kidnapped Abu Khdeir from an east Jerusalem street then beat and burned him alive.

The youngest of the three - given 21 years - is said to have remained in the car when Abu Khdeir was murdered.

Israeli settler Yosef Haim Ben-David, 31, who is believed to be the ringleader in the attack confessed to the murder, but has yet to be sentenced as his lawyers said he suffers from mental illness triggering a last minute psychiatric evaluation.

The two others were 16 when they killed Abu Khdeir in 2014 but are now 18.

The court, which has not identified them because they were minors at the time, noted they were from ultra-Orthodox Jewish families.

They are guilty of kidnap, burning and murder, which are crimes that deserve life in jail if not the death sentence - Mohammad Abu Khdeir's father

Lenient sentence

Abu Khdeir's family denounced the ruling, which they described as too lenient.

"Both the murderers should have received life sentences because their crimes were compound crimes," Hussein Abu Khdeir, the young victim's father told The New Arab.

"They are guilty of kidnap, burning and murder, which are crimes that deserve life in jail if not the death sentence," said Hussein.

He called for the homes of the murderers to be demolished, as Israel regularly does for Palestinian attackers.

"This is the life of Mohammad we are talking about," Suha Abu Khdeir, the victim's mother said. "He did not deserve this."

Abu Khdeir's killing was part of a spiral of violence that led to a 50-day Israeli war in the Gaza Strip in summer 2014.

He was kidnapped from occupied East Jerusalem on 2 July 2014, and his burned body was found hours later in a forest in the western part of the city.

A forensic report showed smoke in his lungs, indicating he was alive when set alight.

The killers planned to kill a Palestinian and equipped themselves with cable ties, petrol and other materials, after three Israeli teenagers were killed.

Different justice

The court's verdict comes at a time when tensions in Jerusalem are running high.

On Thursday, Israeli forces locked down the West Bank hometown of Palestinians who killed an Israeli policewoman and wounded another in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

A 15-year-old Palestinian boy was taken to hospital after being hit by an Israeli jeep - Palestinian medics

The three Palestinians from Qabatiya near Jenin, believed to be 19 to 20 years old, were shot dead during the attack outside Jerusalem's Old City in which the border policewoman was shot in the head.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that "Qabatiya is cordoned off" and that the homes of the Palestinian attackers will be demolished.

Meanwhile, protesters in Qabatiya clashed with Israeli forces.

A 15-year-old Palestinian boy was taken to hospital after being hit by an Israeli jeep and four others were wounded by Israeli gunfire, said Palestinian medics.

Since the wave of violence erupted in October, at least 167 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, 32 of them under the age of 18.

During the same period, 25 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean have been killed by Palestinians.


Agencies contributed to this report