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| Palestinian Sentenced in Killing of Kidnapped Israeli Teenagers | |
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| JERUSALEM — An Israeli military court on Tuesday sentenced a Palestinian man to three life terms in prison for his role as logistics commander in the abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank in June, a crucial chapter in last year’s deterioration of Israeli-Palestinian relations. | JERUSALEM — An Israeli military court on Tuesday sentenced a Palestinian man to three life terms in prison for his role as logistics commander in the abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank in June, a crucial chapter in last year’s deterioration of Israeli-Palestinian relations. |
| The man, Hussam Qawasmeh, 41, part of a sprawling clan in the West Bank city of Hebron with ties to the militant Islamist Hamas movement, was convicted last week of handling $60,000 in five installments from the Gaza Strip to buy two cars, two M-16 rifles and two pistols for use in the operation. In September, Israeli troops cornered and killed the two men they believe carried out the kidnapping and murders: Marwan Qawasmeh, 29, a relative of Mr. Qawasmeh’s, and Amer Abu Aisha, 33. | The man, Hussam Qawasmeh, 41, part of a sprawling clan in the West Bank city of Hebron with ties to the militant Islamist Hamas movement, was convicted last week of handling $60,000 in five installments from the Gaza Strip to buy two cars, two M-16 rifles and two pistols for use in the operation. In September, Israeli troops cornered and killed the two men they believe carried out the kidnapping and murders: Marwan Qawasmeh, 29, a relative of Mr. Qawasmeh’s, and Amer Abu Aisha, 33. |
| “The defendant is charged with the most severe crimes in the book of laws,” says a seven-page court document summarizing the three-judge panel’s sentence, which it described as the maximum penalty. “The lives of the teens ended at once, and the lives of the families have changed forever.” | “The defendant is charged with the most severe crimes in the book of laws,” says a seven-page court document summarizing the three-judge panel’s sentence, which it described as the maximum penalty. “The lives of the teens ended at once, and the lives of the families have changed forever.” |
| The report adds, “The murder disrupted the feelings of the region and led to a security escalation in a chain of harsh events.” | The report adds, “The murder disrupted the feelings of the region and led to a security escalation in a chain of harsh events.” |
| The June 12 disappearance of the teenagers, who were trying to hitchhike home from their West Bank yeshivas, horrified Israelis and prompted an aggressive crackdown on Hebron and the surrounding areas in which scores of Hamas operatives and others were arrested. After the boys’ bodies were found in a ditch near Hebron, three Jewish extremists snatched a Palestinian teenager from his East Jerusalem neighborhood and burned him alive in an apparent revenge attack, according to the Israeli authorities; they have been indicted on murder charges. | The June 12 disappearance of the teenagers, who were trying to hitchhike home from their West Bank yeshivas, horrified Israelis and prompted an aggressive crackdown on Hebron and the surrounding areas in which scores of Hamas operatives and others were arrested. After the boys’ bodies were found in a ditch near Hebron, three Jewish extremists snatched a Palestinian teenager from his East Jerusalem neighborhood and burned him alive in an apparent revenge attack, according to the Israeli authorities; they have been indicted on murder charges. |
| The 50-day war that killed nearly 2,200 people in the Gaza Strip and more than 70 on the Israeli side began soon after. Even after the devastation that fighting brought and a spate of deadly terrorist attacks in Israel and the West Bank this fall, many still see the twin abduction-murders as a significant signpost of the dehumanization that has enveloped the decades-long conflict. | The 50-day war that killed nearly 2,200 people in the Gaza Strip and more than 70 on the Israeli side began soon after. Even after the devastation that fighting brought and a spate of deadly terrorist attacks in Israel and the West Bank this fall, many still see the twin abduction-murders as a significant signpost of the dehumanization that has enveloped the decades-long conflict. |
| “The scars the incident left among residents of the area and the state of Israel have yet to heal,” the court document declares. | “The scars the incident left among residents of the area and the state of Israel have yet to heal,” the court document declares. |
| The faces of the three kidnapped Israelis — Eyal Yifrach, 19, and Gilad Shaar and Naftali Fraenkel, both 16 — became national icons in a “Bring Back Our Boys” campaign of billboards, bus ads and social media appeals. Their funeral was a moment of national mourning. | The faces of the three kidnapped Israelis — Eyal Yifrach, 19, and Gilad Shaar and Naftali Fraenkel, both 16 — became national icons in a “Bring Back Our Boys” campaign of billboards, bus ads and social media appeals. Their funeral was a moment of national mourning. |
| Rachel Fraenkel, the American-Israeli mother of Naftali who captured international attention with her poise and candor amid the trauma, said on Tuesday that Mr. Qawasmeh’s sentencing was “a very obvious result,” adding, “I have no reaction, no thought.” | Rachel Fraenkel, the American-Israeli mother of Naftali who captured international attention with her poise and candor amid the trauma, said on Tuesday that Mr. Qawasmeh’s sentencing was “a very obvious result,” adding, “I have no reaction, no thought.” |
| At the trial, her husband, Avraham, testified that the 18 days between the boys’ disappearance and the discovery of their bodies were filled with “hope, despair, great torment.” | At the trial, her husband, Avraham, testified that the 18 days between the boys’ disappearance and the discovery of their bodies were filled with “hope, despair, great torment.” |
| “Everyone was looking for them, but he knew and said nothing,” Mr. Fraenkel said of Hussam Qawasmeh. “He buried them.” | “Everyone was looking for them, but he knew and said nothing,” Mr. Fraenkel said of Hussam Qawasmeh. “He buried them.” |
| Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel blamed Hamas for the kidnapping from the outset, and used it to bolster his criticism of President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority for signing a reconciliation pact with the Islamist faction. Hamas leaders at first denied any knowledge of the abduction, then later embraced the suspects and praised their actions. | Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel blamed Hamas for the kidnapping from the outset, and used it to bolster his criticism of President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority for signing a reconciliation pact with the Islamist faction. Hamas leaders at first denied any knowledge of the abduction, then later embraced the suspects and praised their actions. |
| The Israeli authorities said the Qawasmehs were affiliated with Hamas, but never offered evidence that the movement’s top echelon ordered or even knew about the operation. | The Israeli authorities said the Qawasmehs were affiliated with Hamas, but never offered evidence that the movement’s top echelon ordered or even knew about the operation. |
| The sentencing papers say Hussam and Marwan Qawasmeh began plotting in 2013, and last April decided to kidnap a Jew in hopes of exchanging him for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, discussing past cases of such trades. Hussam instructed Marwan to recruit Mr. Abu Aisha, the document says, and got the money from a Hamas-affiliated organization in Gaza through his brother Mahmoud and their mother, who lives in Hebron. | The sentencing papers say Hussam and Marwan Qawasmeh began plotting in 2013, and last April decided to kidnap a Jew in hopes of exchanging him for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, discussing past cases of such trades. Hussam instructed Marwan to recruit Mr. Abu Aisha, the document says, and got the money from a Hamas-affiliated organization in Gaza through his brother Mahmoud and their mother, who lives in Hebron. |
| Mahmoud Qawasmeh, who lives in Gaza, has not been arrested. | Mahmoud Qawasmeh, who lives in Gaza, has not been arrested. |
| The three teenagers were forced into a car around 10:30 p.m. and “refused to accept their fate or adhere to the instructions of their captors,” so the Palestinian pair decided to kill them, according to the court papers. | The three teenagers were forced into a car around 10:30 p.m. and “refused to accept their fate or adhere to the instructions of their captors,” so the Palestinian pair decided to kill them, according to the court papers. |
| “Marwan instructed the three teens to lower their heads,” the papers continue. “Immediately afterwards, Marwan and Amer pointed their pistols at the three teens, and executed them one after the other, by firing directly and accurately at their upper bodies, while still in the car.” | “Marwan instructed the three teens to lower their heads,” the papers continue. “Immediately afterwards, Marwan and Amer pointed their pistols at the three teens, and executed them one after the other, by firing directly and accurately at their upper bodies, while still in the car.” |
| “Gilad, Naftali and Eyal died instantly.” | “Gilad, Naftali and Eyal died instantly.” |