The murder in Shuafat • One person was broken and incriminated - the suspects confessed to the act

July 6, 2014   

The suspicion - an act of revenge on nationalistic grounds:  Several of the suspects in the murder of 16-year-old Palestinian boy Muhammad Abu Khdeir from Shuafat confessed to the crime today (Sunday). Initially, one of the six confessed to the crime, incriminating his friends and leading to several other suspects also confessing.

The Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court extended the detention of five of the murder suspects by eight days this evening. The detention of a sixth suspect was extended by five days.

The police have requested an extension of the six's detention by 15 days. The suspects are still prohibited from meeting with their lawyers. The lawyers intend to appeal the extension of the detention. 

The suspects - who live in Beit Shemesh, the Adam settlement and the Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem - were arrested last night and this morning. Some of the detainees have an ultra-Orthodox background.

The police and the Shin Bet are convinced that the murder has been solved and that investigators have the suspects who are indeed behind the shocking act.  

The details of the investigation indicate that Abu Khdeir was kidnapped near his home in the Shuafat neighborhood. On the way, the kidnappers stunned him, burned his body, and dumped it in the Jerusalem forest.

Shin Bet investigators and the police also managed to reach the car that was suspected to have been used by the kidnappers.

The investigation also revealed that another vehicle carrying several of the six suspects who were arrested arrived in Shuafat two days earlier, where they attempted to kidnap a nine-year-old boy from his mother. When they failed, they fled the scene.

Extremist youth group

The investigation shows that this was not an organized attack, but rather a private initiative by a group of extremist youths who knew each other. According to the police, they do not belong to right-wing ideological groups, and the murder was carried out in revenge for the kidnapping and murder of the three yeshiva students. Three of the six are minors.

 אביו של אחד החשודים הכחיש בשיחה עם חדשות 2 Online את החשדות נגד בנו, ואמר: "הוא לא קשור לזה". החשודים מיוצגים על ידי עו"ד מחוננו: עדי קידר, אהרון רוזה, בנצי קבלר ואורי קינן. עו"ד עדי קידר מחוננו, המייצג שניים מהחשודים הקטינים, אמר: "בשלב הזה רב הנסתר על הנגלה. המשטרה ושירות הביטחון הכללי נקטו הליך קיצוני של מפגש עם עורך דין ואנו מערערים על כך. אני מקווה שהצעד הדרסטי הזה לא יגרום לכך שמישהו יודה במעשה שהוא לא עשה. לגופן של החשדות אנחנו מנועים מלהגיב ולא מודעים למלוא הפרטים. אנו יודעים שיש כיוונים נוספים, שהם לאו דווקא לאומניים". In a security video obtained by the police, and shown here, two people are seen walking near the store from which the boy was allegedly kidnapped on the night of the murder. ""He didn't talk about revenge."" בת זוגו של אחד החשודים, אמרה לאתר וואלה: "אני לא יודעת כלום. הוא לא עונה לטלפון ממוצאי שבת. ב-23:00 ומשהו הלכתי לישון. אמרתי לו לילה טוב ואז בבוקר ראיתי שהוא התקשר ב-2:00 בלילה ולא שמעתי כי ישנתי. בבוקר הבנתי שמשהו מוזר קורה כי הוא תמיד מתקשר אליי כשהוא קם. ידעתי שקרה משהו". היא סיפרה כי החשוד לומד במכללה ועובד בבית עסק של אביו, ולו עוד תשעה אחים ואחיות. "זו משפחה מאוד מכובדת. הם בית חרדי, אבל הוא דתי". בהתייחס לחשד כי הרצח בוצע כנקמה על רציחתם של שלושת בחורי הישיבה, אמרה: "הוא בחיים לא דיבר על נקמה. אני בחיים לא אאמין שהוא עשה משהו כזה. הוא לא יסכן את החיים שלו בשביל דבר כזה, אני מכירה אותו". לדבריה, לפני ימים ספורים אמר החשוד על שלושת החטופים: "שהם מסכנים ושצריך להתפלל עליהם". Abu Khdeir, a 16-year-old boy from the Shuafat neighborhood of Jerusalem, has been missing from his home since Wednesday night, and his body was found burned in the Jerusalem forest. Police investigators suspect that the boy was kidnapped and murdered following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, Naftali Frankel, Gil-Ad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach.

A Palestinian doctor also participated in the autopsy of the boy's body, and yesterday (Saturday) a Palestinian official said that Abu Khdeir was set on fire while he was alive, and even suffered violence before his death.

Following the murder, riots broke out in the Arab sector in recent days, mainly in Jerusalem, the cities of the Triangle, and Nazareth. During the clashes, which included throwing stones at police officers and buses, setting off fireworks, and throwing Molotov cocktails, at least ten Israelis were injured.