Family of Burning Victim Abu-Khdeir Sues His Killers

YERUSHALAYIM
Said, uncle of Mohammed Abu-Khdeir, seen in front their home in Shuafat, East Jerusalem, in 2014. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

The family of Mohammed Abu-Khdeir, the 16-year old Arab youth who was burned to death in Yerushalayim in 2014, is suing the killers of the youth, demanding reparations, payment for pain and suffering, and expenses. A lawsuit for NIS 5.5 million was presented by attorneys for the family in the Yerushalayim District Court Tuesday morning.

The kidnapping and murder of Abu-Khdeir occurred early on the morning of July 2, 2014, a day after the burial of the three Israeli teens who had been kidnapped weeks before by Hamas terrorists – Naftali Frenkel (16), Gilad Sha’ar (16), and Eyal Yifrach (19), Hy”d. The kidnapping and murder of the three boys raised the ire of Israelis of all backgrounds, and, along with the incessant firing of rockets on Israeli communities in the Negev, was a contributing factor in the Israeli decision to fight Hamas again in Operation Protective Edge, which began on July 8.

Abu-Khdeir’s body was found bound and burned in a Jerusalem area forest. By July 6, police had in custody three suspects, who all confessed to the crime after several sessions of questioning. Two Israeli teens were convicted in the case. A third suspect, an adult, was acquitted of charges in the incident, due to what the court said was a “reduced mental condition.”

Last August, Muhammed Abu-Khdeir, the 22-year-old cousin of the murdered youth, was indicted for planning terror attacks against Israelis and security forces. Prosecutors filed an indictment against Abu-Khdeir for a series of terror-related crimes, conspiracy to commit murder, illegal weapons possession, and for being a member of the Popular Front terror group. The group met several times beginning in March 2017, according to the indictment, and began planning attacks. Among other things, the gang planned to shoot at Israeli vehicles in the Shechem area, and to plant firebombs along the road that would be detonated when an Israeli vehicle passed. All along, they participated in numerous riots and rock throwing attacks against Israeli security forces.

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