Father of Abu Khdeir calls son’s Jerusalem murder trial a farce

Relatives say the family plans to file a case against the government in the International Criminal Court.

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
Muhammad Abu Khdeir (photo credit: REUTERS)
Muhammad Abu Khdeir
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Hussein Abu Khdeir has reportedly dismissed the murder trial of his son Mohammad’s three alleged killers as a public relations stunt and “farce.”
Abu Khdeir made the statements during a peaceful protest attended by family and friends in front of the Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday, as one of the defendants testified against the alleged ringleader of the grisly slaying, the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) reported Thursday.
“It’s all a farce and, as I said before, Israel will claim the killers have psychological issues,” IMEMC claimed Abu Khdeir told a Palestine TV journalist. “This is exactly what happened and Israel is showing no real interest in seriously prosecuting them.”
As the protesters held images of the murdered teen, another relative of Abu Khdeir called for additional protests in front of the court, alleging that the Israeli justice system will not properly uphold the law for a Palestinian victim, IMEMC reported.
Moreover, the relative said the family plans to file a case against the government in the International Criminal Court.
The defendants, Yosef Haim Ben-David, 30, and two Jewish minors, allegedly burned Mohammad Abu Khdeir to death last July as revenge for the infamous kidnapping and murder of three Jewish teenagers days earlier in Hebron.
Despite Hussein Abu Khdeir’s accusations, a judge has denied Ben-David’s insanity plea.
During Wednesday’s proceeding, one of the minors took the stand and said he “never dreamed” that they were going to kill Abu Khdeir, and attempted to place all of the blame on Ben-David, whom he said was “like my father,” adding that he felt compelled to follow his lead.
According to the indictment in the case, Ben-David, from the settlement of Adam, was the leader in the abduction and murder, and encouraged the unidentified minors from Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, to serve as his accomplices.
The indictment stated that Ben-David drove the car while both minors attacked Mohammad and threw him into the back of the vehicle in Shuafat shortly before dawn.
Mohammad then tried to call his uncle and escape, kicking one of the defendants in the face, before he was overpowered.
As the two minors allegedly strangled Mohammad and struck him on the head multiple times, Ben-David called out the names of murdered Jews, including Shalhevet Pas, the Fogel family, Gil-Ad Shaer, Eyal Yifrah and Naftali Fraenkel, the indictment states.
The teens allegedly doused Mohammad with gasoline and proceeded to burn him alive. Police found his badly burned remains about one hour after he was reported kidnapped.
The murder trial is expected to last several weeks.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.