Two Israeli teens convicted in beating, burning death of Palestinian

JERUSALEM, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Two Jewish teens were convicted of murder Monday in the 2014 abduction, killing and burning of a Palestinian youth near Jerusalem.

The victim, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 16, was taken from outside his East Jerusalem home to a forest near the city, where he was beaten unconscious and then burned alive. The incident shocked Israelis and Palestinians and was considered an instigator to a period of violence that summer, which included a 50-day armed Israeli invasion of Gaza.

The two boys convicted were not identified because they were minors at the time of the crime. They said in court they were responsible for Abu Khdeir's abduction but not his killing. One was also convicted of attempting to kidnap a Palestinian youth on the night before Abu Khdeir's abduction.

A third person charged and regarded as the main suspect in the case, Yosef Haim Ben-David, 31, was found responsible for the crimes but his verdict was delayed after his lawyers submitted a psychiatric evaluation and an insanity plea. The court said the submission of the evaluation was "contrary to proper and appropriate procedure," but scheduled another hearing in Ben-David's case for Dec. 20.

Ben-David is a relative of the two people convicted.

The victim's father, Hussein Abu Khdeir, who attended the court hearing Monday, regularly remarked he expected Ben-David to plead insanity. He said, after the ruling, Ben-David's last-minute psychiatric report "made a joke of the court. My blood is boiling."

Violence continued in predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem over the weekend. A Palestinian, Ayman Sameeh Abbasi, 17, died during clashes with Israeli security forces, and Israeli police said at least 10 firebombs were thrown at border patrol agents in the area.