14-Year-Old Palestinian Charged With Attempted Murder in Stabbing Attack

The boy is accused of attempted murder after his alleged involvement in a stabbing attack at the light rail station in East Jerusalem, along with his 11-year-old cousin, who has been deemed too young to stand trial.

The Jerusalem District Court on Thursday handed down an indictment against the elder of the two suspects from the predominantly Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina, after they were accused of stabbing an Israeli security guard in the Pisgat Zeev neighborhood on November 10.

The 14-year boy was also charged with carrying a knife and convincing his 11-year-old cousin to take part in the assault. The younger boy can’t be indicted under Israeli law due to his age, below that of criminal responsibility. He is expected to be directed to welfare authorities.

According to the indictment, the two boys aimed to carry out an attack using knives in Jerusalem’s Old City.

“Since they only had a small amount of money and thought that given their age, nobody would sell them a knife, they bought a sharp pair of scissors” the indictment reads.

They then allegedly searched for an Israeli soldier suitable to attack. But all the troops they encountered appeared to be in groups, according to court documents, and so the boys changed tactics, “decid[ing] to stab Jews on the light rail.”

The boys boarded a train at the Damascus Gate station, and chose as their victim a guard who entered the car soon thereafter, the indictment details. When the train was passing the Shuafat stop in East Jerusalem, the older boy reportedly stood up and started stabbing the victim, while his cousin joined him.

The wounded guard drew his gun and ordered the boys to drop the knife and scissors. When the younger boy refused, the guard shot and “moderately” wounded him, Haaretz reported.

Palestinian aged 14 charged with attempted murder for Jerusalem stabbing https://t.co/dSlq6dHRjs pic.twitter.com/UyhbBPRIum

— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) November 20, 2015

Family members have maintained the boys are innocent and may have been framed, according to the Times of Israel.

Stabbing attacks have shaken the region in the last month, raising security concerns among locals.

Also on Thursday, Israeli prosecutors charged a 24-year-old Palestinian with attempted murder for stabbing an Israeli woman in Eilat three weeks ago.