Mohammed Abu Khdeir, murdered in Jerusalem
'Jewish extremists' arrested in brutal murder of Palestinian teen
Mohammed Abu Khdeir was kidnapped and burned alive, likely in revenge for murders of Israeli teens.
Israeli security forces arrested suspects in connection to the kidnapping and murder of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir. The move gives more weight to the suspicion that the murder had a nationalist motive.
Initial autopsy findings from the body of an East Jerusalem youth who Palestinians believe was kidnapped and killed by far-right Jews showed that he was burned alive, the Palestinian attorney-general is reported as saying.
"The direct cause of death was burns as a result of fire and its complications," Mohammed Al-A'wewy was quoted as saying by Palestinian official news agency Wafa late on Friday.
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Saber Al-Aloul, the director of the Palestinian forensic institute, attended the autopsy which was carried out by Israeli doctors in Tel Aviv.
Al-A'wewy said Al-Aloul had reported fire dust material was found in Khdeir's respiratory canal which meant "the boy had inhaled this material while he was burnt alive."
Burns covered 90 percent of the surface of the body. The head suffered a cut. Samples like liquids and tissues were taken for more lab examinations to complete the legal medical report.
At Khdeir's funeral on Friday, furious Palestinians chanted "Intifada! Intifada", calling for a new uprising against Israel. Stones thrown at Israeli police were met by teargas, stun grenades and rubber bullets in one of the most highly charged displays of enmity in Jerusalem in years.
Police brutality
Video footage showing three policemen in riot gear aggressively beating the young American cousin of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, the Palestinian teen found dead in Jerusalem earlier this week, has sparked fury in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.The boy was identified as Tariq Abu Khdeir, who was reportedly arrested and beaten on Thursday evening.
Jerusalem Magistrate's Court released 15-year-old Tariq Abu Khdeir, cousin of slain Palestinian teen Muhammad Abu-Khdeir, from jail on bail Sunday morning. Tariq is suspected of throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks and of injuring an officer.
According to the terms of his release, he must not reside in Shuafat and had to deposit NIS 3,000 in bail.
Aviel Magnezi contributed to this report.
