Palestinian who killed 14-year-old shepherd sought more victims

Police arrested Ahmed Duabsha, 21, for the brutal murder of Benyamin Achimair. Achimaier disappeared while watching sheep in the Binyamin region north of Jerusalem

Tel Aviv [Israel], June 20 (ANI/TPS): A Palestinian terrorist who killed a 14-year Israel shepherd in April also planned to kill more Jews, according to an indictment filed by Israeli prosecutors on Thursday. Police arrested Ahmed Duabsha, 21, for the brutal murder of Benyamin Achimair. Achimaier disappeared while watching sheep in the Binyamin region north of Jerusalem. After a 24-hour search, his body was found so badly mutilated with rocks that the search teams couldn't immediately identify the body.

According to a redacted indictment cited by Ynet News, Duabsha and several friends from the nearby village of Duma were drawn to Islamic State ideology about one year before the attack, and believed that Jews and other non-Muslims needed to die. "The suspect decided that he would go on a killing spree the next morning at first light," the indictment said. "He took a knife of around 20 centimeters long, picked out clothes and laid down in his room. The next day, he put on his clothes, prayed, took the knife in his sheath and put a black scarf on his head."

The indictment said that after killing Achimaier, Duabsha sought out more victims but returned home after encountering a dog that frightened him. Palestinians in nearby villages clashed with soldiers during the ensuing manhunt for the killer.

In the two weeks before Achimaier's murder, three separate Palestinian terror cells planning to kidnap shepherds from the same farm were arrested. Palestinian arsonists have set fires to farm pasture in the area and stoned responding fire trucks.

Since October 7, Israeli security forces have arrested around 4,000 wanted Palestinian terror suspects in Judea and Samaria, of whom 1,700 are associated with Hamas. (ANI/TPS)

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