Israel jails Palestinian teen for 12 years

Occupied Jerusalem: An Israeli court sentenced a Palestinian teenager Monday to 12 years in prison for a knife attack against two Israelis, his lawyer said.

Ahmad Manasra, 14, was earlier found guilty of the attempted murder of a 20-year-old and a 12-year-old boy in the Jewish colony neighbourhood of Pisgat Zeev in occupied East Jerusalem, lawyer Lea Tsemel said.

He was 13 at the time of the attack in October 2015, which was one of the most high-profile in a recent wave of violence.

The Israeli regime’s district court in Jerusalem also ordered Manasra to pay 80,000 shekels (Dh77,133; $21,000, 19,000 euros) in compensation to the adult victim and 100,000 to the boy.

Manasra allegedly carried out the attack along with his 15-year-old cousin Hassan, who was shot dead by security forces. Ahmad Manasra was hit by a car as they fled.

The attack took place at the beginning of a months-long wave of Palestinian knife, gun and car-ramming attacks, mostly against occupation security personnel.

Footage released by Israeli authorities in the wake of the attack purported to show the cousins — knives in hand — following the Israeli victims.

It also showed Ahmad Manasra in the aftermath of the attack lying bleeding on the ground while Israeli onlookers shouted abuse.

It sparked a propaganda skirmish, with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas claiming he had been “executed” while Israel scrambled to release video of him sitting up and eating in a Jerusalem hospital bed.