Israeli settler convicted of murdering Palestinian teenager

The ringleader of an Israeli mob responsible for the 2014 beating and burning alive of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir has been ruled sane and convicted over the attack.

Yosef Haim Ben-David was found in November to have led the assault but his lawyers submitted last-minute documents stating he suffered from mental illness.

Tuesday's court ruling, however, found that the 31-year-old resident of an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank "was not psychotic, fully understood the facts, was responsible for his actions, had no difficult understanding reality and had the capacity to prevent the crime".

The family of his teenaged Palestinian victim welcomed the decision, but said they hoped judges followed through with a life sentence for Ben-David.

At the hearing, Abu Khdeir's mother wore a heart-shaped pendant with a picture of her son wearing a baseball cap inside. His father said the decision "should have been made a long time ago".

"We knew that he wasn't mad," Hussein Abu Khdeir told AFP.

"It was all a big lie to get off from the crime which he carried out. Even if they sentence him for life, this will never bring Mohammed back again. Our hearts are wounded from what happened."

A sentencing hearing has been set for 3 May.

In November, Ben-David's two accomplices, both children, were convicted of murder.


Agencies contributed to this report.