Dawabsheh murder confessions admissible: Israeli court

JERUSALEM (AA) - An Israeli court has ruled that most of the confessions given by the primary defendant in the 2015 arson-murder of three members of a Palestinian family are legally admissible, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.

According to Israeli daily Haaretz, a district court in the city of Lod ruled that confessions given by Amiram Ben-Uliel, the primary defendant, along with that of a minor involved in the case, were admissible in court.

However, the court also ruled that confessions extracted by means of “painful physical pressure” were not legally admissible.

“Regarding Ben-Uliel, the court ruled to accept some of his confessions [related to] the murder of the Dawabsheh family,” Haaretz reported.

“But the court rejected confessions extracted by [domestic security agency] Shin Bet as inadmissible,” the newspaper added.

“Regarding the minor [who was not identified], the court will accept his confessions pertaining to his involvement in the murders but will reject all confessions he made under Shin Bet interrogation [pertaining to the planning of the attack],” Haaretz said.

Tuesday’s decision was made at a mini-trial held in advance of the case’s main trial, which is expected to begin soon.

In July of 2015, Israeli settlers torched the Dawabsheh family’s West Bank home in an attack that claimed the lives of Saad and Riham Dawabsheh and their 18-month-old baby.

Their eldest son, Ahmed, 6, survived the attack, but suffered severe burns that have affected his mobility.

The incident sparked international outrage at the time, with the Dawabsheh family accusing Israel of dragging its feet in prosecuting the suspects despite admissions by Israeli officials that they knew who was responsible.