.
One was also convicted of attempting to kidnap a Palestinian youth on the night before Abu Khdeir’s abduction.
A third person charged and regarded as the main suspect in the case, Yosef Haim Ben-David, 31, was found responsible for the crimes but his verdict was delayed after his lawyers submitted a psychiatric evaluation and an insanity plea. The court said the submission of the evaluation was “contrary to proper and appropriate procedure,” but scheduled another hearing in Ben-David’s case for Dec. 20.
Ben-David is a relative of the two people convicted.
The victim’s father, Hussein Abu Khdeir, who attended the court hearing Monday, regularly remarked he expected Ben-David to plead insanity. He said, after the ruling, Ben-David’s last-minute psychiatric report “made a joke of the court. My blood is boiling.”
Violence continued in predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem over the weekend. A Palestinian, Ayman Sameeh Abbasi, 17, died during clashes with Israeli security forces, and Israeli police said at least 10 firebombs were thrown at border patrol agents in the area.
