Intifada of knives: 14 year old Palestinian sentenced to 12 years in prison

The court convicted Ahmed Manasra  for the attempted murder of two brothers aged 20 and 12 years. He will also have to pay a monetary compensation to the victims. The young man declares his innocent and is facing a rehabilitation path. The sentence criticized by activists and the Palestinian Authority. Sentences of 11 years for two other Palestinian minors.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A court in Jerusalem sentenced three young Palestinians to prison over knife attacks on Israeli citizens.  These include a 14 year old, involved in one of the most controversial episodes in the violence of the Third intifada (or "intifada of the knives"). The Palestinian Authority and human rights activists have strongly criticized the ruling, pointing out that such a long period of detention should not be inflicted on minors.

Ahmed Manasra (pictured), aged 14, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of attempted murder of two Israeli citizens 20 to 12 years. He was only 13 in October 2015, when the attack occurred in the Jewish settlement of Pisgat Zeev in East Jerusalem.

He acted together with his cousin 15 year old Hassan, shot to death by Israeli security forces during the assault. The two settlers stabbed in the assault suffered serious injuries.

Young Ahmed will also have to pay a fine of 80 thousand shekels (21 thousand dollars) in compensation to the victim of adult age and 100 thousand shekels to the minor.

The lawyer of the young Palestinian - who declared his innocence saying that he had struck the victims and is now undergoing rehabilitation - has already announced an appeal against the judgment.

In a similar story, also yesterday, the judges sentenced a 15 year old and a 17 year old of Palestinian origin to 11 years in prison for stabbing a jew in the Old City in January.

Starting in October 2015, after a series of provocations by ultra-Orthodox Jews who prayed on Temple Mount, unrest spread in Israel and the Palestinian territories, in what became known as the ‘knife intifada’.

So far, 237 Palestinians, 35 Israelis, two Americans, a Sudanese and an Eritrean have died in the violence. Most of the Palestinians died tried to stab, fire at or drive cars against pedestrians and soldiers. Some were killed during demonstrations or clashes with the military.

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