Israeli Man Charged With Triple Murder and Arson

Israeli prosecutors have filed a triple murder indictment against 27-year-old Omri Abu Samak of Jat. The indictment, submitted to the Haifa District Court, also charges him with weapons offenses, altering a vehicle's identification, arson, and obstructing an investigation. The victims were identified as three young men from Jaldjula: brothers Izo and Qasem Ode, aged 17 and 20, and their cousin Yahya Basimi, 22.

According to the indictment, Abu Samak and three accomplices, Muahad Hariri, Id Hafni, and Mahdi Abu Muhsen, allegedly planned the killings in advance. They reportedly acquired a pistol, ammunition, and flammable liquid, and used a stolen car with fake license plates. The three alleged accomplices are suspected of involvement in the murders and have since fled abroad.

On the night of September 12-13, 2026, one of the group members picked up the victims and took them to an apartment controlled by Abu Samak in Jat. The victims were then placed in the back of a car and driven to an agricultural area in Jat in two vehicles. There, Abu Samak and two accomplices allegedly shot the victims multiple times in the head and upper body. Subsequently, one of the suspects doused the car with flammable liquid and set it ablaze with the young men inside.

The bodies were discovered in the burned-out vehicle near Baka al-Gharbiyya. In a recorded conversation cited in the request for Abu Samak's remand until the end of proceedings, he reportedly said of an accomplice, "May God forgive him for what he did to them, he burned them. There are still things you don't know. If I tell you, your hair will stand on end."