Jerusalem – As Trial Starts Adult Suspect In Revenge-Killing Of Arab Teen Says He Is The Messiah

Jerusalem – The only adult suspect of the three Israelis charged in the July 2 revenge-killing of an Arab teen is expected to enter an insanity plea following a court appearance on Sunday during which he announced to the court that he is “the messiah.”

TIMESOFISRAEL.com (http://bit.ly/1o436LE) reports that the lawyer for 29 year-old Yosef Haim Ben-David, Aharon Roza, said his client’s courtroom outburst on Sunday is indicative of his “deep mental distress” and asked that the court have Ben-David examined by an independent psychiatrist.

On Sunday, Roza told the court, “I met the client in severe mental distress, and he spoke disconnectedly about all sorts of messianic things, and about demons who tell him what to do. He is disconnected from reality at this stage, and says he is the messiah, son of David, which matches his name.”

Ben-David, along with two 16 year-old juveniles whose names have been withheld, are accused in the indictment of conducting a “human hunt” during which they actively sought to kill an Arab in revenge for the killing of three Israeli teens.

At Sunday’s reading of the indictment, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein condemned the actions, saying the trio “cruelly kidnapped and murdered the minor Muhammed Abu Khdeir simply for being an Arab.”