Palestinian trio indicted for seriously wounding man in Jerusalem terror stabbing
Teens from Bethlehem, one of them a minor, accused of illegally entering Israel before setting out to Gilo neighborhood to find a Jew to murder
Three Palestinian teenagers were indicted Friday for seriously wounding an Israeli man during a recent terror stabbing in Jerusalem’s Gilo neighborhood.
According to prosecutors, 18-year-old Muhammad Alabiyat, 19-year-old Wizan Abiyat and a 17-year-old minor from the West Bank city of Bethlehem purchased three knives on July 20 and after praying at a mosque, traveled to nearby Gilo to commit an attack.
The suspects allegedly drove from the Palestinian town of Beit Jala on a dirt road, then got out and continued by foot to Gilo.
After reaching the Jerusalem neighborhood, they searched for a Jewish victim to stab while keeping their knives concealed, a statement from prosecutors said.
The group eventually approached a young man on the street and began to converse with him to ensure he was Jewish, and upon realizing he was stabbed him several times being fleeing back toward Bethlehem, the indictment alleged.
One of the knives remained lodged in the back of the victim, 25-year-old Or Sayer, while another was found by security forces at the scene. Prosecutors said the third blade remained with one of the suspects.
Israeli forces detained the suspects two days later in a cave, where the prosecution said they hid out following the stabbing after first changing clothes.
The trio was charged with committing a terrorist act of attempted murder, unlawful possession of a knife and unlawful entry into Israel.
Prosecutors requested the Jerusalem District Court order they remain in custody until the end of proceedings.
אור סייר ויינר הוא הצעיר שנפצע קשה אתמול באירוע הדקירה בגילה, בו נדקר 20 פעמים בכל חלקי גופו. סטודנט לביולוגיה וכימיה בעברית שהיה בדרך לעזור לסבא וסבתא:
״זה פיגוע וודאי״, אמר קרוב משפחה, ״הוא ילד שעסוק כל חייו בללמוד במעבדה, רוצה רק להציל חיים״.
המעורבים טרם נתפסו.@WallaNews pic.twitter.com/0c3jjAxdfU
— ינון שלום יתח Inon Shalom Yttach (@Inon_Yttach) July 21, 2023
Sayar has remained hospitalized at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center since the attack. The hospital said that upon arrival, he was in very serious and unstable condition, and was taken into surgery. It later said he was stable but still in serious condition, sedated and intubated, in the intensive care ward.
The attack came as tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been high for the past year and a half, with the military carrying out near-nightly raids in the West Bank amid a series of deadly Palestinian terror attacks.
