DNA of Jewish teen found on rock that killed Palestinian woman, court says

The DNA of a Jewish teen suspected in the death of a Palestinian woman in a rock-throwing attack in the West Bank was found on the rock that killed her.

The Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court announced the finding on Wednesday, when it gave prosecutors one more day to file an indictment against the minor or order him released. He has been in custody since his Dec. 30 arrest by the Israel Security Agency.

The judge also reportedly said that the teen gave an explanation about why his DNA was on the rock, the first time he provided testimony since his arrest.

Prosecutors filed a statement last week saying that they would indict the teen, whose name is under a gag order, but did not say what the charges would be.

Four other teens from the Pri Haaretz Yeshiva high school in the West Bank settlement of Rehalim were arrested for suspected involvement in the incident and have since been released, though they could still be charged.

Aisha Mohammed Rabi, 47, was killed at the Tapuah Junction in mid-October when a rock thrown at the car driven by her husband struck Rabi in the head. Her husband told the international media that the rocks were thrown from near a Jewish settlement and that he heard people speaking Hebrew, though he did not see them.

The Honenu organisation, which provides free legal defence for Jewish settlers, has called the interrogation of the teens “brutal.”