His family immediately reported the fact to Israeli Police who located his charred body a few hours later at Givat Shaul in the Jerusalem Forest.
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The court deferred his decision after his lawyers made a late plea for him to undergo psychological evaluation.
The court is expected to consider the plea on December 20. The prosecution, however, argues that Ben David is responsible for his acts and fit to stand trial.
Hamas condemned what it called “the exoneration” of Ben David, describing him as the Jewish settler who killed Abu Khdeir. “What I saw today [in court] was utterly meaningless”. He said there was no dispute about Ben-David’s condition, but he emphasized that it was “not such that detracts from his criminal responsibility” and fitness for trial.
“The [law] enforcement systems in Israel are not doing enough to stop Jewish terrorism”.
Ahmed’s uncle, Nasser, who has fought for months to bring his family’s killers to justice, told Al Jazeera that he had not given up hope in the case, despite the fact that no suspects have been charged. The libel was ravenously seized on by large swathes of an Israeli public unwilling to face up to one of “us” so brutally killing one of “them”.
The verdicts, and eventual sentencing, could stoke tensions that are already high over access to a major Jerusalem mosque complex that Jews revere as vestige of their two ancient temples. During the same period, about 100 Palestinians have been killed, either as they carried out or attempted attacks, or in clashes with Israeli forces.
According to figures in a U.N.-backed report issued in June, 2,251 Palestinians were killed during the hostilities, which included Hamas rockets fired into Israel and shelling into Gaza by Israeli gunners. Of those, 56 are said by Israel to have been attackers.
The article itself, about an incident on Sunday, did begin with the knife attacker seriously wounding an Israeli border policeman before being shot dead, but the text of the article itself was borrowed from Agence France Presse.
‘Israel has said it is suspending contact with European Union officials involved in peace efforts with the Palestinians. I am afraid that the court will release them (suspects) in the end. During a series of police interviews, the suspects confirmed Abu Khdeir was killed in retaliation for the deaths of Naftali, Shaer, and Yifrah.
But the Israeli government may continue making efforts to crack down on Jewish extremists, not only for Israelis’ and Palestinians’ safety, but to prevent further outbreaks of violence and instability. He was bludgeoned then burned to death in a forest in Jerusalem during July of 2014. Preliminary results from the autopsy suggested that he was beaten and burnt while still alive.
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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.
