A Palestinian teen was burned alive according to details from the autopsy. CNN reports that Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 16, was hit on the head with a blunt object, and he also inhaled smoke from the fire that burned him. The teen was abducted and killed this past week in Jerusalem.
Israeli authorities say they are aggressively investigating the teen’s death. Abu Khdeir’s death has sparked outrage from many who believe that the Palestinian teen’s abduction and killing was done in retaliation for the three Israeli teens recently kidnapped and killed.
According to the New York Times , Mohammed Abu Khdeir had spent the hours before his abduction at a recreation center he frequented. He played foosball and watched the World Cup before being dropped off at home. He was then snatched off the street just a few yards from his home and forced into a van in the wee hours of the morning.
Hamas has been blamed for the killing of the three Israeli teens, though they have denied they were responsible. Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach had been hitchhiking on the West Bank when they were taken and soon shot to death. Abu Khdeir’s abduction happened the day after the three Israeli teens were buried. Tensions seem to be running higher than ever between the two sides in the area.
Results from the autopsy of the teen burned alive indicate that he had suffered burns covering about 90 percent of his body, according to the Daily News . Burns were found in his throat, bronchial tubes and lungs, indicating he was still alive at the time he was set on fire. Abu Khdeir’s body was found in a forest on Wednesday.
According to The Jerusalem Post , Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as condemned the teen’s murder as “loathsome” and “reprehensible.” Many are blaming Israeli extremists for the teen’s kidnapping and death, though at this time authorities say they are “trying to understand and find out exactly what took place, and what the background was.”
Reuters reports that six Jewish suspects have been arrested in connection with Abu Khdeir’s death . Little additional information regarding the arrests is available yet, though authorities say they saw “nationalist motives” in the incident. There is a gag order in place regarding the incident where the teen was burned to death. However, it is said that the suspects, some of whom are minors, are far-right extremists.
[Image via The Moderate Voice]
