Teen suspected of killing classmate hit with murder, weapons charges

Prosecutors have filed charges against a high school student accused of fatally stabbing his classmate last month in Kafr Qara, an Arab city in central Israel.

The teen is indicted on charges of murder with reckless indifference and possession of a knife for an illicit purpose after he stabbed Muhammad Marazqa during a fight between the two on school grounds.

The defendant began studying at the school the month of the stabbing, prosecutors write. He regularly carried a pocket knife with him to class.

Prosecutors say that the defendant had no prior acquaintance with his victim, and that the fight broke out on October 27 after the suspect made an offensive remark to the victim. During the fight, he stabbed the victim twice in the chest, and the victim collapsed to the floor.

The stabbing was one of several violent incidents to take place on school grounds in Arab municipalities in recent weeks, as community leaders voice fear that rampant crime has begun to spill over into educational institutions.

“We are dealing with a deadly incident that took place inside a school, a stronghold for children and the place where they are supposed to feel safe,” writes Anan Ghanem, a lawyer in the State Attorney’s Office, saying the incident points to a “harsh reality” that “endangers our children in their second home, where they spend most of their waking hours.”

Last month, a school security guard was shot dead in Kafr Yasif, a town in northern Israel, as he was on duty outside the building.