Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: It should be noted that as an Israeli court
sentenced one Jewish teenager to life and another to 21 years for murdering
an Arab, an Arab teenager who murdered Jews would get a heroes welcome from
the Palestinian Authority rather than a punishment.
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Abu Khdeir's killers sentenced to life imprisonment, 21 years
Feb. 4, 2016 5:04 P.M. (Updated: Feb. 4, 2016 5:31 P.M.)
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=770124

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- An Israeli court on Thursday sentenced to life one of
the Israeli murderers of Palestinian teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir and
another to 21 years behind bars, in a ruling Abu Khdeir's family condemned
as too light.

The teenager's family had been seeking life sentences for both Israeli
minors, but their defense attorneys claimed their actions had been
influenced by a third killer, 30-year-old Yosef Ben-David.

Ben-David, believed to be the group's ringleader, has confessed to the
killing along, but has so far escaped conviction pending a last minute
psychiatric evaluation.

Muhammad Abu Khdeir, a 16-year-old from Shufat in occupied East Jerusalem,
was kidnapped and murdered by the three extremists in July 2014.

All three confessed to beating the teenager unconscious before pouring
flammable liquid on him and setting him alight. An autopsy later confirmed
the teen had been burned alive

In addition to the minors' prison sentences, the court also ordered that
they compensate Abu Khdeir's family with 60,000 NIS ($15,350).

However, Abu Khdeir's family said the sentencing was not severe enough and
called again for life imprisonment for both killers.

Abu Khdeir's father, Hussein, told Ma'an: "Muhammad died again today, and we
died with him. Does is it make sense to sentence the killer who kidnapped,
tortured and burned Muhammad to only 21 years in prison?”

He said the sentence proved Israel was not a democratic country. "Israeli
courts have two faces of judiciary: one for the Palestinians and another for
the Israelis.

"If a Palestinian child throws a stone, he is sentenced to years in prison,
but when an Israeli settler burns and kills a Palestinian child, he is
sentenced to 21 years."

Hussein and his wife, Suha, said that the sentence would "encourage other
settlers to commit more crimes against the Palestinians, because they know
that the Israeli judiciary will protect them and cover for their crimes."

Abu Khdeir's death sparked international condemnation and placed pressure on
Israel to bring Jewish extremists to justice. Many critics said such attacks
were the result of total impunity for Israelis who attacked Palestinians.

At the sentencing hearing last month, both Abu Khdeir's parents gave
impassioned testimonies to the court.

Hussein said: "We are trying to live our lives like before. We are going to
psychiatrists. But our lives have turned dark. We are not thinking of our
lives or our future. We only think of the heinous crime and why Muhammad was
burned.

"My children are afraid and my 14-year-old son, Seif al-Din, sleeps in my
bed since the incident -- he is afraid to go out of the house. We have
nightmares. My wife screams in her sleep."

Meanwhile, Suha told the the court: "I am lost after Muhammad. He took my
life with him. I was denied the right to say farewell or see him before he
was buried because he was completely burned."

She added: "His pictures are everywhere, and every day I think about why
Muhammad was killed -- what did Muhammad do to them?"