Alleged murderer of Ori Ansbacher indicted for murder

A police declaration filed on Sunday with the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court against Arafat Irfaiya of Hebron on suspicion of the murder had already indicated that the indictment was on the way.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
The funeral of 19 year old Ori Ansbacher (photo credit: Courtesy)
The funeral of 19 year old Ori Ansbacher
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Hebron man who allegedly murdered and raped teenager Ori Ansbacher in Jerusalem’s Ein Yahel forest last month was indicted in the Jerusalem District Court on Thursday.
A police declaration filed on Sunday with the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court against 29-year-old Arafat Irfaiya on suspicion of a terrorism-murder had already indicated that the indictment was on the way.
According to a summary of the indictment, Irfaiya illegally crossed into Israel from the West Bank with a general intent to kill a Jew out of revenge for his perception of Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinians, but with no specific plan.
The indictment said that he saw 19-year-old Ansbacher of Tekoa, and decided to kill her.
He stabbed her three times and dragged her to an even more abandoned spot. Next, he stabbed her a few more times and stuffed her mouth with her scarf so she could not scream, read the indictment. He then raped her, broke her cellphone so she could not call for help, and left her to die.
The Palestinian confessed to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and reconstructed the crime for them.
Irfaiya was caught while trying to hide in a mosque near Ramallah. No Palestinian group has voiced support for him or taken credit for the attack, presumably due to the rape.
The brutal crime shocked Israel, leading to a wave of protests demanding that terrorists receive death sentences as well as an outpouring of grief over the death of Ansbacher.