Israel court convicts Palestinian boy of attempted murder

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — A Jerusalem court convicted a 14-year-old Palestinian on Tuesday of the attempted murder of two Israelis in a knife attack last October that was one of the most high-profile of a recent wave of violence.

The Jerusalem District Court also found Ahmed Manasra guilty of inflicting severe injury in the attack he carried out at the age of 13 along with a 15-year-old cousin, officials said.

The two stabbed and seriously wounded a 20-year-old and a 12-year-old boy in the Jewish settlement neighbourhood of Pisgat Zeev in occupied East Jerusalem.

Hassan, the cousin, was shot dead by Israeli forces, while Ahmed was hit by a car as they fled.

The trial was held behind closed doors because of Manasra's age.

The Jerusalem district prosecutor stressed "the fact the defendant is a minor does not change in the least the risk and danger his actions caused", the justice ministry said.

Manasra, an East Jerusalem resident, was the youngest Palestinian to be convicted by an Israeli civil court in the wave of violence that erupted last October. 

A 12-year-old Palestinian girl from the West Bank, convicted of attempted murder by a military court as part of a plea bargain and sentenced to four months, was released from prison in April.

Manasra's attorney Lea Tsemel told AFP that "the evidence shows he did not want to kill at all and didn't murder anyone. He said he just wanted to scare Jews so they'd stop killing Palestinians".

Tsemel contrasted the attempted murder charges Manasra was convicted of with the manslaughter charge levelled against Israeli soldier Elor Azaria, who is accused of shooting dead a wounded Palestinian assailant as he lay on the ground.

She accused the legal system of being "dragged into discriminating between Jews and Arabs".

Manasra's sentencing will begin on July 11, a justice ministry spokeswoman said.

The district prosecutor said he would "seek a severe sentence, within the law".