Israeli jailed for life: he kidnapped a young Palestinian and burned him alive
The court sentenced 31 year old Yosef Haim Ben David for the horrible crime. He is the leader of a gang that in 2014 killed the 16 year old Mohammed Abu Khdair. Insanity plea rejected. The father of the young man killed applauds the verdict. Meanwhile, Israel continues to demolish homes of Palestinian youths suspected of violence.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - An Israeli court sentenced 31 year old Yosef Haim Ben David, leader of a gang that in 2014 kidnapped, tortured and burned alive the sixteen year old Palestinian Mohammed Abu Khdair, to life imprisonment.
The judges deemed the defendant capable of discernment, rejecting an insanity plea submitted by his lawyers. Two young Israelis were sentenced to prison with him for their involvement in the brutal murder that at the time rekindled clashes and violence between Israelis and Palestinians.
The prosecutor had requested life imprisonment for Yosef Haim Ben David for the murder of 16 year old Mohammed Abu Khdair, 20 years for the crime of kidnapping and another 15 for other general crimes, including the attempted kidnapping of a child. He must also pay a sum of money to the Palestinian’s family.
Khdair was kidnapped and killed to avenge the previous murder of three young Israelis in the West Bank, in a spiral of violence that culminated in the summer of 2014 in the 50-day war in the Gaza Strip. The body of the young Palestinian was found in a wooded area west of Jerusalem, two days after the discovery of the bodies of young Israelis killed by Hamas.
During the trial, Ben David said he wanted to apologize for his act, emphasizing that he was "sorry for the family." "I was not me - he added - I was completely out of control." The father of the 16 year old Palestinian said he wants to see his son’s murderer "die in prison".
In April, the judges rejected an insanity plea lodged by Ben David. His accomplices, aged 17 and 16 at the time of the crime, were sentenced to life imprisonment and 21 years in prison in a previous trial that ended in February.
Meanwhile, the demolition of houses in the West Bank belonging to Palestinian families accused by Israel of having collaborated in the murder of a couple of settlers in October 2015 continues. Yesterday, the authorities demolished the house of Zeid Amr, 27 years old, accused of being part of the squad that killed Hamas Naama and Eitam Henkin in front of their children. "They demolished the inner walls - said Zeid’s father, Ziad Amr - and put the seals on the house".
The demolition policy, strongly desired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is supposed to act as a deterrent in an attempt to stop the escalation of violence between Israelis and Palestinians which, since last October, has killed 203 Palestinians and 28 Israelis.
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