An Israeli court on Tuesday convicted a Palestinian minor of “attempted murder” and possession of knife, a family member has said.
An Israeli district court convicted Ahmad Manasrah, 14, of attempted murder related to an alleged knife attack in East Jerusalem last year.
“My son did not try to stab anyone; the charges are fabricated,” Saleh Manasrah, Ahmad’s father, told Anadolu Agency.
“The court verdict is unfair. He (Ahmed) should not be arrested or kept in jail, even for one moment,” the distraught father said.
Israeli prosecutors, for their part, say Ahmed — along with his cousin, Hassan — attempted to stab two Israelis in East Jerusalem’s Shufat neighborhood in 2015.
Israeli security forces shot and killed Hassan Manasrah, 15, at the scene.
Ahmed, meanwhile, was seriously injured after being run over and assaulted by Israeli settlers before being arrested.
A lawyer working with the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs, Tariq Barghouth, called the court decision “contestable,” adding that the court decision would likely be appealed.
“We hope the Supreme Court will view this humanitarian case differently,” Barghouth said.
“Once again, the Israeli court proves its racist treatment of the Palestinians,” the lawyer added, highlighting the “double standard” of the Israeli justice system when it comes to punishing Palestinians accused of committing crimes against Israelis, compared to cases of settlers attacking Palestinians.
Palestinian child Ahmad Manasrah convicted by Israeli court, threatened with life sentence https://t.co/tL5fJ7mLDM via @SamidounPP
— Joe Catron (@jncatron) May 10, 2016
Last November, the Israeli police were accused of abusing Manasrah after a video of his interrogation was posted online.
The footage appeared to show the interrogator pressuring Manasrah, who said he could not remember the incident and said he was suffering mental trauma.
#Israeli court order life sentence for 13-yr Ahmad Manasrah. Doctored evidence, report sayshttps://t.co/VtgUW8Gyy4 pic.twitter.com/Mu7ikXTGKO
— Fadi Al-Qadi (@fqadi) May 10, 2016
Manasrah’s trial was postponed a number of times, which some commentators alleged was a conscious move to delay the case until he turned 14 in January, at which time he became old enough under Israeli law to be given a prison sentence.
(MEMO, MAAN)
I am from Vancouver,Canada and I wanted to say that it is not Ahmad Manasrah that is the problem it is the Apartheid Israel gov’t.Ahmad Manasrah shouldn’t be in prison. It is the Israeli Gov’t that should be charged with war crimes and genocide against the Palestinian People by the ICC in the Hague.It is them that should be in prison for committing these crimes against the Palestinian People.
The majority of people in the world supports Ahmad Manasrah and all other Palestinians fighting against Israeli Apartheid.It is good that a statue of Nelson Mandela has been placed in Ramallah.It will remind people to get rid of Israeli Apartheid.