Parents of Palestinian teen burned alive still seeking justice

An Israeli court today convicted two Jewish minors who abducted and burned Mohammed Abu Khdeir alive in July 2014.

The Jerusalem District Court found two Israeli youths guilty of murder on 30 November but accepted an 11th-hour petition by David’s lawyers to delay his sentencing on grounds of insanity.

His death was described as revenge for the murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank by Hamas militants.

However, the fallout led to mass unrest between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza Strip, eventually leading to seven weeks of war.

In his refusal to dismantle all illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Netanyahu is playing a risky game that could see Israel revert to being just another insignificant Mediterranean state dependent on USA aid and arms for survival. “When we try to claim we are better than our enemies … we will always have this incident as a mirror”, Corb said.

The lawyer of Abu Khdeir’s family questioned why the insanity plea was filed only at the last minute, as the trial has been going on for more than a year.

Israeli authorities say the killers confessed to the crime, claiming it was in retaliation for the abduction and murder of three Israeli students by Hamas operatives as they were returning home from their yeshivas.

Under Israeli law, minors can not be convicted before a review board endorses the verdict.

Hamas said Kerry’s statements are in favor of the Israeli army, committed atrocities against the Palestinians, saying “Kerry’s statements are unprecedented moral collapse”.

The two teenagers, who were not named because they are juveniles, are expected to be sentenced in January.

Outside the court a group of Abu Khdeir family members were holding posters with Mohammed’s image on them as the verdict was delivered.

The maximum sentence for minors is life imprisonment, according to attorney Lea Tsemel, who often represents Palestinians in court.

On Dec. 20, the court is set to meet to discuss whether to admit the psychological evaluation of Ben-David.

“When we attempt to maintain that we’re better than our enemies – and that I believe that we’re better than them – we should look only at that occasion as a mirror”, he said.

In the aftermath of Khdeir’s murder, one of his cousins, a 15-year-old Palestinian-American boy, was beaten by Israeli police officers in an assault caught on camera.

Hussein and Suha Abu Khdeir (center), parents of 16-year-old Palestinian victim Mohammed Abu Khdeir, hold posters with their son’s portrait after the verdict was read in Jerusalem.

As for Jewish extremists who carry out similar acts, Israel’s high court ruled this year that destroying their homes would not be a deterrent because, they found, settler violence against Palestinians is not an ongoing issue. Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has said the suspects were known have not been arrested to protect intelligence sources.