Teen who stabbed soldier on rail ‘influenced by Al-Jazeera’
Mohammed Shuman was indicted for attempted murder of an Israeli soldier on Thursday
An East Jerusalem teen was indicted Thursday for attempted murder after stabbing an Israeli soldier on the Jerusalem Light Rail on March 15.
According to the prosecution, Mohammed Shuman stabbed 19-year-old Yehudit Aharon because of frustration about the plight of Palestinians as portrayed by news reports on Arab TV stations Al-Jazeera, al-Quds and al-Manar, as well as on CNN, all of which he watched regularly.
Shuman, a resident of East Jerusalem’s Beit Hanina neighborhood, was playing hooky from school when he decided to stab Aharon at the rail’s Pisgat Zeev station. The teen fled the scene, disposed of the assault weapon, and was later caught by security forces at the Qalandiya checkpoint, apparently trying to cross into Ramallah.
In addition to his indictment for attempted murder, Shuman was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and obstruction of justice.