ISRAELI COURT CHARGES PALESTINIAN TEEN, 13, WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER

Bethlehem,  18 Muharram 1437/31 October 2015 (MINA) – Israel’s Jerusalem District Court on Friday indicted 13-year-old Palestinian Ahmad Manasra on charges of attempted murder following an attack on two Israelis on Oct. 12 in Jerusalem, Israeli media reported.

The stabbing attack took place near the illegal Pisgat Zeev settlement in East Jerusalem, with Israeli police reporting that two Israelis, aged 13 and 21, were seriously injured,  Maan News Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Ahmad’s 15-year-old cousin, Hassan, was shot dead at the scene by Israeli forces, while Ahmad was knocked over by a car and seriously wounded.

A video of Ahmad lying injured and bloody on the ground after being hit by the car was uploaded to social media and went viral. In the footage, an Israeli onlooker can clearly be heard saying: “Die, son of a whore! Die!” while another tells the police officer to shoot him.

Ahmad will be held in a closed facility until prosecution, with the court rejecting the family’s request that he be placed under house arrest.

Israeli news site Ynet said that the cousins committed the attack after returning from school and discussing the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Gaza, before deciding to be “martyrs.”

Due to his age, Ahmad cannot face jail time until he turns 14 in January.

Over 60 Palestinians have been killed this month as rights group call for Israel to halt “unlawful” killings of Palestinians who have not posed a great enough threat at the time of their death for the deliberate use of force to be permissible by Israeli forces.

At least 13Palestinianchildrenhave been killed by Israeli forces in the unrest. (T/P010/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)