Tel Aviv – An Israeli court on Tuesday convicted a 14-year-old Palestinian knife attacker of two counts of attempted murder, seven months after he and his cousin seriously injured two Israelis in a Jerusalem settlement.
Closed-circuit footage of the mid-October knife attack showed Ahmed Manasra, 13, and his cousin, Hassan Manasra, 15, both with knife in their hands, chased a 21-year-old Israeli.
The Israeli was seriously wounded.
The footage also showed a 13-year-old Israeli falling from his bike as he was stabbed and seriously injured by Palestinian teens.
Hassan was shot dead by border policemen, while Ahmed was arrested.
Defence Lawyer, Leah Tsemel, told reporters outside the Jerusalem District Court that she would appeal.
The court in Tuesday’s ruling rejected the defence’s submission while Prosecutor Yuval Kedar welcomed the ruling, saying the knife attacker’s young age did not reduce the severity of the act.
“The current wave of (knife) attacks has claimed many victims and is being carried out in many cases by minors,” Kedar said.
Observers said the prosecution may ask for eight to 10 years, despite Manasra’s age.
Manasra had been held in closed Israeli juvenile facility since October 2015. (dpa/NAN)