The trial of 13-year-old terrorism suspect Ahmed Manasra began in a Jerusalem juvenile court on Tuesday. Manasra has been charged with attempted murder for his role in the Oct. 12 stabbing attacks in Jerusalem’s Pisgat Zeev neighborhood in which two Israelis—a man and a boy of 12—were wounded.
In court on Tuesday, Manasra admitted to most of the facts in the indictment against him, but claimed he had not intended to kill anyone. His lawyers said he did not stab anyone during the attacks.
The evidence stage of Manasra’s trial is scheduled to begin in two months. Until then, he will remain in a locked facility.
Manasra allegedly perpetrated the stabbings with his 15-year-old cousin, Hassan Manasra, who was shot dead by security forces at the scene. The cousins, from the east Jerusalem Arab neighborhood of Beit Hanina, carried out the attacks as they made their way home from school on Oct. 12. They were targeting Jews, the indictment said.
According to the indictment, the cousins first saw a young ultra-Orthodox man, and stabbed him twice with the intent to kill. They then moved on and came upon a 12-year-old Israeli boy, stabbing him four times, also with the intent to kill.
The cousins later encountered security forces. Hassan Manasra was shot dead, while Ahmed Manasra was hit by a vehicle and seriously injured. He was taken into custody and hospitalized. He has since recovered from his injuries and has been released from the hospital, but he remains in detention while legal proceedings against him are conducted.
Under Israeli law, a 13-year-old cannot receive a prison sentence. But Manasra will turn 14 in January, and if his trial ends as it likely will after his birthday, this would make him eligible for a prison sentence.
Meanwhile, the ranks of child terrorists from east Jerusalem grew on Tuesday afternoon, when a pair of relatives from Shuafat, ages 11 and 14, carried out a stabbing attack with a knife and scissors on a light rail car in Pisgat Ze’ev.
A security guard was moderately wounded in the attack but shot the younger terrorist, seriously wounding him. Light rail passengers overpowered the second terrorist and pinned him down until security forces arrived.
Like the Manasras, the perpetrators of Tuesday’s attack were also on their way home from school when they embarked on their rampage.
The 14-year-old was arrested and will be indicted. The younger terrorist will be released to his home after he recovers from his wounds, as in Israel the youngest age for criminal liability is 12.
Around the same time on Tuesday afternoon, a 37-year-old Arab resident of the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya was shot dead as he tried to stab Israeli security guards at the Old City’s Damascus Gate.
Later on Tuesday, Border Police officers shot dead an Arab terrorist near the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu Dis. The terrorist had approached the officers with a drawn knife, prompting them to open fire.
For the original article, visit israelhayom.com.
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