Killer of Arab Teen Muhammad Abu Khdeir Dies in Prison

Yosef Haim Ben-David, who was convicted of the murder of Arab teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir in the summer of 2014, died on Thursday, September 24, at the age of 42. According to Kan news, he passed away in a hospital after being transferred from prison due to heart problems. Ben-David, a resident of Jerusalem, was serving a life sentence plus 20 years at "A-Sharon" prison.

Two minors from Beit Shemesh, including Ben-David's nephew, were also convicted for Abu Khdeir's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment plus 21 years. The 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir was killed on July 2, 2014, in retaliation for the Hamas terrorist murder of Israelis Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer, and Eyal Yifrah.

Following the investigation, police arrested three suspects. The trial began in September 2014. According to the indictment, the perpetrators abducted Abu Khdeir to exact revenge for the deaths of the three Jewish teens. They drove him to the Jerusalem Forest, beat him unconscious en route, doused him with flammable material, and set him on fire before fleeing the scene. Abu Khdeir's body was discovered in the Jerusalem Forest.

During a police reenactment, Ben-David described kicking the body and referenced the three teenagers killed by terrorists weeks earlier. In 2016, while awaiting sentencing at "Ayalon" prison, Ben-David attempted suicide by slitting his wrists with a can lid in a prison toilet, but was stopped by guards and received medical attention.