Two Jewish teens were found guilty of the murder of a Palestinian teen who was burned to death in the Jerusalem forest.
The verdict in the kidnapping and killing of Mohammad Abu Khdeir, 16, was handed down Nov. 30 in Jerusalem District Court.
The court also found that the third defendant, Yosef Haim Ben-David, 31, of the Adam settlement in the West Bank, carried out the crimes for which he was accused, but delayed issuing a verdict due to the last-minute submission of an insanity plea.
The teens have not been identified because they were minors at the time of the crime. They will be sentenced next month.
One of the teens was convicted of attempted aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, attempted arson, murder and abduction for the sake of murder. The other was convicted of murder and abduction for the sake of murder.
According to the court, Ben-David committed murder, abduction for the sake of murder, attempted aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault and attempted arson.
The court will further discuss his case on Dec. 20, according to reports.
Khdeir was beaten unconscious and then burned to death in the Jerusalem Forest on July 2, 2014, to avenge the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens the previous month, Ben-David told police at the time of his arrest.
Khdeir’s father, Hussein Abu Khdeir, called the decision to delay a verdict for Ben-David a “crime,” and “utterly meaningless,” according to reports.
He has called for life sentences in prison for all three of those involved in the murder. — jta