Israel Court Convicts 2 For Abduction, Murder Of Palestinian Teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir

A court in Israel convicted two Jewish defendants for the murder and abduction of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, a 16-year-old Palestinian who was burned alive in a Jerusalem neighborhood in July last year. The incident, carried out to avenge the deaths of three Israeli teenagers just days before, contributed to the breakout of the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, which led to the deaths of over 2,300 people, mostly Palestinians.

Three people were charged over the kidnapping and murder. While the two convicts -- both 16 at the time -- confessed to abducting, bludgeoning and burning Khdeir, sentencing of the third suspect and the alleged ringleader -- a 29-year-old named Yosef Haim Ben-David -- was held off pending a psychological review, according to media reports.

Khdeir was abducted in the early hours of July 2, 2014, from the Arab neighborhood of Shuafat in Jerusalem, a day after the burial of the three Israeli teenagers killed by suspected Hamas members. His charred body was found in a forest in West Jerusalem a few hours later.

Days after the incident, the Israeli government placed Khdeir’s name on a national monument to “Victims of Terrorism.” However, the decision sparked protest from both Israelis and Palestinians -- who were, by then, deeply entrenched in the latest in a series of increasingly violent conflicts in the region -- and his name was eventually removed.