Israel's Justice Ministry reported that prosecutors indicted three Jews Thursday over the kidnapping and murder of the Palestinian teenager who was burned to death this month in what has been described as a "revenge killing," according to Agence France Presse.
The three men charged, a 29-year-old and two 16-year-olds, are allegedly from the same family. The eldest resided in the West Bank settlement of Adam and the younger two lived in the town of Beith Shemesh near Jerusalem
The names of the charged, however, were not released to the public.
The three Israelis are charged collectively for the death of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir who was kidnapped and burned to death on July 2 in what has been described as a "revenge killing" after three missing Israeli teenagers were found dead in the West Bank.
Individually, the three also face separate charges. One faces charges for attempting another kidnap of a seven-year-old Palestinian boy from east Jerusalem and arson attacks on Palestinian-owned cars. Two of the three are also charged for setting fire to a Palestinian shop in the West Bank's Izmeh.
AFP reported that an Israeli government legal adviser denounced the attacks as "shocking acts of racism against innocent people."
The kidnapping of the Israeli youths and the revenge murder on the innocent 16-year-old Palestinian boy has heightened hostilities between Israel and Palestinians, and partly accounts for sparking the ongoing violence between Tel Aviv and Gaza that has left over 200 Palestinians dead in nine days.
