Palestinian to be indicted for killing prison worker, but no terror motive found

The Israel Police and Shin Bet said Tuesday that a Palestinian man has been arraigned and will be indicted within days for the July murder of Israel Prison Service employee Yochai Avni, but that no evidence was found for “nationalistic motivation” for the deed.

Avni was stabbed to death in his home in the West Bank settlement of Givon Hahadasha, outside Jerusalem, early in the morning of July 8.

The suspect was named as Ibrahim Mansour, 22, from the West Bank town of Bidu, who had been arrested two days after the incident. At his Tuesday arraignment, which was held over Zoom, Mansour repeatedly smiled and laughed, and at one point blew kisses, prompting his removal from the broadcast.

According to a Tuesday Ynet report, Mansour was subsequently treated as a security detainee and transferred to a different facility.

The police and Shin Beit did not find a nationalistic motive for the killing, meaning Mansour will be charged with murder as a criminal only, not as a terrorist. They found that there was no prior acquaintance between Mansour and the victim, and that Avni’s killing was not connected to the fact that he worked for the prison service.

A nationalistic motive for murder would classify Avni as an official terror victim, and also open the door to additional punishments for Mansour, such as a house demolition or restrictions on his West Bank relatives entering Israel proper.

After the hearing, Avni’s parents and family held a small press conference outside the Ofer prison, where Avni worked, where they contested the decision, saying, “This was a murder with a nationalist background… any other claim won’t be accepted. Yohai’s blood cries out from the ground.”

Avni, a 40-year-old dog handler, was found stabbed to death on July 8 following a fire in his home in the West Bank settlement of Givon Hahadasha, outside Jerusalem.

His colleagues at the prison where he was employed noticed his absence from work and turned up at his home to check on him. When they arrived, they saw smoke emerging from the home and called firefighters to the scene.

Mansour was detained two days later as a suspect.

In the statement Tuesday, police and the Shin Bet said investigators concluded that Mansour managed to break into Givon Hahadasha at nighttime and tried to enter several homes until he climbed in through the window of a home rented by Avni, who was sleeping.

He woke up and a struggle broke out between the two, with Mansour stabbing Avni many times with a sharp object until the latter collapsed, according to the statement. Mansour then took a large knife and stabbed Avni in the neck, killing him.

Mansour then allegedly stole several items and attempted to set the house on fire before fleeing, but the fire ended up going out on its own. He later burned the stolen items while fleeing.

Two suspects previously detained, relatives of Mansour’s, were ruled to have no involvement in the murder and were released.

Mansour’s remand is currently extended until August 27.