Family of murdered Palestinian teen asks court for demolition of Jewish killers’ homes
Published July 7, 2016
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The family of a Palestinian teen from eastern Jerusalem killed in a revenge attack by three Jewish extremists has asked Israel’s Supreme Court to order the demolition of the murderers’ homes.
Muhammad Abu Khdeir was kidnapped and killed on July 1, hours after the bodies of three kidnapped Jewish teens were discovered near Hebron. Abu Khdeir’s charred body was discovered in the Jerusalem Forest, where he was burned alive by the killers.
In May, Yosef Ben-David, 31, of Jerusalem, was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years.
The names of Ben-David’s accomplices, who were both 16 at the time of the killing, have not been released publicly. The accomplices were sentenced last April: one to life in prison, the other to 21 years.
The teen’s family on Wednesday called on the state to raze the killers’ homes as it does for the family homes of Palestinian terrorists.
“The state needs to operate in the same way against Jewish terrorists as it does against Palestinians. Just like the homes of Palestinian terrorists are sealed, the same should be done to Jews,” the family said in its request, according to the Times of Israel.
The family went to the Supreme Court after the Defense Ministry determined last month that there was no need to demolish the Jewish killers’ homes since Jewish terrorism is not as widespread as Palestinian terror, the Times of Israel, which saw the official letter sent to the family, reported.