Israel’s Jerusalem District Court on Monday convicted two Israelis for the murder of Palestinian teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir last summer, with a third suspect who admitted to the killing escaping conviction on the grounds of his mental health.

The conviction of Yosef Ben David, the ringleader of the gang that kidnapped, assaulted, and burned Muhammad, 16, to death, was suspended to allow for a last minute psychiatric evaluation, Israeli news site Haaretz reported.

The 31-year-old suspect’s lawyer submitted an evaluation last week declaring that he was not responsible for his actions at the time of the murder.

The two Israeli youths found guilty will be sentenced on Jan. 13, according to the AFP news agency, while another hearing for Ben David was set for Dec. 20.

Following the ruling, Abu Khdeir’s father Hussein told Ma’an: “I will not accept less than a lifetime prison sentence and demand to demolish their houses.”

He added:“I don’t believe in the Israeli judiciary, and I want to see if they will be fair or not. We will go to the International Criminal Court if the Israeli court mitigates their sentence.”

All three suspects confessed to the murder during questioning by Israeli police, admitting to beating the Palestinian teenager unconscious before pouring flammable liquid on him and burning him alive.

The suspects said it was revenge for the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers.

The group drove around for hours to find a suitable victim before kidnapping Abu Khdeir at 4 a.m. after he had decided to pray at the mosque in the Shufat neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

They took him to a forest on the outskirts of Jerusalem and hit the teenager with a crowbar while shouting “this is for the Fogel family” and “this is for Gilad, Naphtali and Eyal,” Israeli news site Ynet reported.

They set fire to him and then fled the scene.

The grisly murder sparked shock, disgust and an outpouring of condemnation from both Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the time.

(Maan)