Israeli prosecutors filed an indictment on Thursday against 43-year-old Samid Jahjah of Arara, accusing him of murdering his 9-year-old daughter, Laila Jahjah, by indifference during Eid al-Adha about a month ago. According to the charge sheet, he fired at least eight times after a quarrel among children escalated, striking Laila in the head. He is also accused of washing his hands with bleach afterward and trying to conceal evidence.
The indictment, filed by attorney Yossi Gimple from the Haifa District Prosecutor’s Office, says that two weeks before the killing Jahjah came armed with a handgun to his brother’s home during a dispute involving the brother and Jahjah’s nephew, Jahjah’s son and Laila’s brother. He allegedly threatened his brother and fired into the air.
On the holiday itself, the family gathered at the home of Jahjah’s parents. After an argument between children led to insults, Jahjah’s sister criticized his son’s behavior. When relatives failed to calm the situation, Jahjah entered the house, took a pistol he was illegally holding, and fired at least eight shots inside the home, including at a wall with a window facing the courtyard where the children and other relatives were standing. Laila was rushed to hospital by one of her uncles in critical condition and was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Police said the indictment followed a complex and intensive investigation. According to police sources, the scene was washed and cleaned before the girl was taken for treatment, and the father allegedly remained behind and attempted to dispose of evidence. Police said they view violence and illegal weapons use with utmost seriousness, especially when a child is killed, and warned that efforts to obstruct the investigation would not stop detectives from pursuing the truth.
The indictment includes murder by indifference, weapons offenses, firing in a residential area, threats and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors asked that Jahjah be held until the end of proceedings, saying he poses an extremely high danger and that many potential witnesses are family members, making him unfit for release.
