Court orders Ari Fuld accused murderer jailed until end of trial

Family calls for house demolition

OCTOBER 29, 2018 20:29

Updated: OCTOBER 30, 2018 01:53

Ari Fuld (photo credit: ARI FULD PERSONAL WEBSITE) — Ari Fuld

(photo credit: ARI FULD PERSONAL WEBSITE)

Judea Juvenile Military Court Judge Kamal Zaharaldin on Monday ordered a Palestinian accused of the murder of Ari Fuld to remain in custody until the of his trial.

Fuld, 45, was fatally stabbed in the back on September 16 outside the Harim Mall in Gush Etzion by 17-year-old Palestinian, Khalil Yusef Ali Jabarin of Yatta, a city of 64,000 south of Hebron.

Although not officially disclosed, The Jerusalem Post has learned that Jabarin has also been charged with three attempted murder charges and possession of an unlicensed weapon.

Prior to stabbing Fuld with a 21-cm.-long knife, Jabarin had scoped out the Ziv junction, the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and a checkpoint near Bethlehem as possible venues for his attack before settling on the Rami Levi supermarket.

Jabarin declined to attack at the Ziv junction because he could not find an IDF soldier. Similarly he put off attacking a Jew at the Hebron shrine because it was closed while at the Bethlehem checkpoint he was worried that Palestinian passers-bye might get caught up in his assault.

He chose his target because Fuld was standing with his back to him and was distracted by a cellphone conversation.

Mortally wounded, Fuld chased his attacker before collapsing. Leaping over a stone wall, he was able to shoot and wound his assailant. Evacuated to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Fuld succumbed there to his wound which had punctured a lung.

Jabarin, who was shot both by Fuld and a second civilian, was evacuated in moderate condition to Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem. He was indicted on October 22. Aspects of the case are under a gag order since he is a minor.

Former IDF chief West Bank prosecutor Maurice Hirsch, a lawyer for Ari Fuld’s widow Miriam, said that the evidence against Jabarin “is unequivocal and includes video footage of the cold-blooded murder.

“What bothers the family is the fact that the IDF has not yet made the obvious decision to destroy the house of the murderer. The claim that the murderer’s mother gave a previous warning about her son’s intentions has been completely negated,” he said.

“As such, it is unclear why the decision has yet to be made. The request that the murderer’s house be destroyed is not motivated by vengeance, but rather the honest and sincere belief that the destruction of the houses of terrorist murderers is an effective deterrent against future terrorist acts and truly saves lives.”

Born in New York, Fuld, 45, immigrated to Israel in 1994.

The dual US-Israeli citizen lived in Efrat with his wife Miriam, and was the father of Tamar, 22, Naomi, 21, Yakir, 17, and Natan, 12.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.