Arafat Irfaiya, the accused murderer of 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher, was found fit to stand trial and is responsible for his actions, according to the district psychiatrist’s investigation, which was announced on Wednesday.
Last week, Walla reported that the Jerusalem District Court ordered Irfaiya to undergo a psychiatric examination at the request of his defense attorney, after allegedly suffering from psychological problems.
Security officials say Irfaiya, 29, has confessed to killing Ansbacher, reconstructing the murder for police ahead of his arraignment in court.
The Hebron man was arrested in a joint operation by the IDF, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the Border Police’s Yamam counterterrorism unit in an abandoned building, near the Jamal Abdel-Nasser Mosque in el-Bireh adjoining Ramallah, following intelligence received by security forces.
According to reports, authorities received information that he was hiding in the mosque and proceeded to raid it. When Irfaiya was not found, troops confiscated security camera footage from the neighborhood and returned later that night to conduct a second raid on a nearby abandoned building, where he was arrested without putting up a struggle.
The knife he is believed to have used in the murder was found during the arrest.
Irfaiya was arrested less than 48 hours after Ansbacher, from the West Bank settlement of Tekoa, was found naked with multiple stab wounds in the Ein Yael Forest southwest of Jerusalem.
Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.