Duma murder trial begins in charged courtroom
Supporters of victims and of suspects clash as trial begins of Jewish suspects in last July's terrorist firebombing in Duma, which killed a 18-month-old and his parents; defense likely to center on claim that Shin Bet coerced confession, later recanted, with force.
The trial of two suspects in the the Dawabsheh family murders, which indictments say was an incident of Jewish terrorism, began Wednesday at the Lod District Court.
Bitter confrontations erupted in court between supporters of the victims and those of the suspects as tensions boiled over. The case, which involves the arson fire that killed 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh and fatally wounded his praents as they slept in their home, has drawn renewed attention to Jewish extremists and the so-called "hilltop youth". Meanwhile, the arrest of two suspects -- Amiram Ben-Uliel and an unnamed minor -- led to accusations among some Jews that the Shin Bet was using torture in its investigation.
On Wednesday, Ben-Uliel's wife walked through the hallway of the Lod District Court to the sound of Dawabsheh family supporters chanting "murderers" and "God is great."
"You are proving that you are terrorists," she retorted.
Court security guards prevented a skirmish between the two parties and removed two Dawabsheh family supporters who were shouting. Later, Hussein Dawabsheh, the grandfather of slain infant Ali, angrily left the courtroom. "The defendant laughed at us during the hearing," he said. "This is a joke; this is not a court. He murdered my son and they let him laugh at me."
Saad Dawabsheh, Ali's father; Riham Dawabsheh, Ali's mother; and Ali himself were murdered in a terrorist attack when their house was set on fire. Nasser Dawabsheh, Saad's brother, told reporters outside the courtroom today: "I came here because we need to see what happens in the courts. We do not believe the Israeli courts. It is very difficult to see my brother's murderers. I am filled with anger. We demand justice, but we do not believe justice will be served. If justice existed, lsrael would have been able to prevent the incident."
Two months ago, Israeli authorities lifted a gag order against publishing details on the terrorist attack and charged Amiram Ben-Uliel and an unnamed 17-year-old from the northern West Bank.
Ben-Uliel, the primary suspect, was indicted for three counts of homicide, two counts of attempted homicide, two counts of arson, and conspiracy to commit a hate crime. The anonymous 17-year-old was indicted for conspiracy to commit a crime, six counts of arson, several counts of property damage, and racially-motivated insult to religion.
According to the indictment, the two conspired to attack Arabs after Malachi Rosenfeld was murdered in a terror attack. Ben-Uliel allegedly gathered two bottles of lighter fluid, flammable rags, a lighter a box of matches, gloves, and black spray paint. Ben-Uliel purportedly left his house on July 30 and did not meet with the 17-year-old youth, even though they had planned to meet. According to the charges, Ben-Uliel later arrived at the Dawabsheh family's home and threw a Molotov cocktail in it, killing three family members.
The hearing on Wednesday morning took place behind closed doors, like the other hearings in the case. The suspects are almost certain to plead innocence when the court asks them to state their plea. Ben-Uliel's lawyers claim that he was abused by the Shin Bet and thus his confession, which he later recanted, was illegally obtained.
Hussein Dawabsheh spoke further about why he came to court. "They burned my family and I want to know what is happening here," he said. "I do not want to look at them; I am seeking justice and I hope it will be served. Ahmed is still at the hospital and in better condition. He does not want me to come here because he fears something will happen to me like what happened to his parents. He told me that I should not come here."
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the lawyer representing the suspects, said: "The behavior of the Dawabsheh family outside the court proves that they are not interested in a fair and just ruling."
