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Solved case · 2014
Also known as Mohammed Abu Khdeir's murder · Mohammed Abu Khdeir's killing
The short answer
Mohammed Abu Khdeir, a 16-year-old Palestinian from East Jerusalem, was abducted and burned to death in the Jerusalem Forest on 2 July 2014 by Israeli citizens who later said the killing was revenge for the murder of three Israeli teenagers. Three attackers were convicted; the ringleader, Yosef Haim Ben-David, and one of the two minors were sentenced to life, while the second minor received 21 years.
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On the early morning of 2 July 2014, 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir, a resident of the Shu'fat neighborhood of East Jerusalem, was forced into a car near his home by two or three men. Witnesses reported hearing him cry out for help, and his father later obtained surveillance footage showing two men on the street where the abduction occurred. The family notified Israeli police within minutes. Police tracked the victim's cellphone and, within hours, located his charred body in the Jerusalem Forest near Givat Shaul. A preliminary autopsy at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv indicated that he had been beaten and that he was alive when he was set on fire.
The killing followed the 12 June 2014 abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers—Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar, and Naftali Frankel—which had provoked a wave of right-wing demonstrations, social-media incitement calling for revenge, and at least one other Palestinian killed by Israeli forces. On 6 July, Israeli police and Shin Bet detained six Jewish suspects. One confessed and implicated others; within days three suspects—identified as Yosef Haim Ben-David, a 29-year-old eyewear shop owner from the settlement of Geva Binyamin, and two minors—confessed to the kidnapping and murder and reenacted it at the crime scene. Three other detained suspects were released as not directly connected to the killing. According to the suspects' confessions, the original plan was to attack an Arab person or torch a shop; after abducting Abu Khdeir they beat him and set him on fire in the Jerusalem Forest.
The murder was condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, and the families of the three murdered Israeli teenagers, including Rachel Fraenkel, mother of Naftali Frankel, who stated "there is no difference between blood and blood." The Abu Khdeir family rejected condolence visits from Netanyahu and then-President Shimon Peres, accusing the Israeli government of incitement, and later objected to the state's inclusion of their son on a memorial for terror victims. In the aftermath, Abu Khdeir's cousin Tariq Khdeir, a 15-year-old Palestinian-American, was beaten by Israeli police during a protest, an incident captured on video; the officer involved was later convicted of assault and given a suspended sentence and community service. The killing contributed to widespread unrest in East Jerusalem and was cited by Israeli officials as a contributing factor to broader tensions preceding the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.
On 30 November 2015, the two minors were found guilty of murder; they were sentenced on 4 February 2016 to life imprisonment and 21 years respectively. Ben-David, whose fitness to stand trial had been contested, was found guilty on 19 April 2016 and sentenced on 3 May 2016 to life imprisonment plus an additional 20 years. The Israeli Supreme Court rejected appeals from all three on 8 February 2018. The Abu Khdeir family later pursued a civil lawsuit and petitioned unsuccessfully for the demolition of the perpetrators' homes, a punitive measure Israel applies to Palestinians convicted of terrorism.
14 dated entries · 2014–2018
Mohammed Abu Khdeir is abducted near his home in Shu'fat, East Jerusalem, and his burned body is found hours later in the Jerusalem Forest.
Israeli police detain six Jewish suspects for interrogation; one confesses and incriminates others.
Three suspects confess to the murder and reenact it at the crime scene in the Jerusalem Forest.
A Petah Tikva court orders release of three suspects deemed not directly involved in the murder.
Main suspect Yosef Haim Ben-David is cleared for publication by the court.
The three main suspects are arraigned; Ben-David declares 'I am the messiah.'
Ben-David refuses to cooperate at a pre-trial hearing; the two minors plead guilty to abduction but deny murder.
The two minors are found guilty of murder; Ben-David is also found to have committed the crime pending psychiatric evaluation.
The two minors are sentenced to life imprisonment and 21 years respectively.
A psychiatric evaluation finds Ben-David fit to stand trial.
Ben-David is found guilty of murder.
Ben-David is sentenced to life imprisonment plus an additional 20 years.
The Israeli Supreme Court rejects appeals from Ben-David and the two convicted minors.
The Abu Khdeir family announces a civil lawsuit against the perpetrators seeking damages.
3 named in this file
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
16-year-old Palestinian resident of Shu'fat, East Jerusalem, kidnapped and burned to death on 2 July 2014.[3]
15-year-old Palestinian-American cousin of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, beaten by Israeli police during a protest in an incident captured on video.[3]
Convicted as the ringleader of the kidnapping and murder; found guilty 19 April 2016 and sentenced 3 May 2016 to life imprisonment plus 20 years.[3]
From the record
3 cited
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
PressThe GuardianAccessed Jul 10, 2026
PressThe New York TimesAccessed Jul 10, 2026
EncyclopedicWikipediaAccessed Jul 10, 2026
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