JERUSALEM, May 21 (JTA) — The Jordanian soldier who shot dead seven Israeli schoolgirls on the border between the two countries will go on trial next week in a military court outside of Amman. A five-member panel, headed by a brigadier general, will hear the case. Prosecutors said Ahmed Daqamsa, a 28-year-old driver, will be charged with premeditated murder for the March incident, an offense that carries the death penalty if convicted. Daqamsa’s lawyer said his client did not deny that he shot the girls who were on an outing at the Naharayim enclave, but that he was provoked by the girls’ making fun of him while he was performing noon prayers. He said his client also said that he considered the shooting a “nationalist” act.
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