Two Bedouin Israelis indicted for killing Israeli soldier in terror attack

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two Bedouin Israelis were indicted for the stabbing death of an Israeli soldier in Arad in southern Israel.

Ron Yitzhak Kokia, 19, of Tel Aviv, was stabbed while waiting for a bus on Nov. 30. The stabbing was a nationalistically motivated terror attack, the Israel Security Agency determined at the time of the attack. The Bedouin men, whose names remained under a gag order until Friday, were captured a day after the stabbing.

The men were named as Khaled Abu Jaudah, 22, from an unrecognized Bedouin village in southern Israel, and his half-brother Zahi Abu Jaudah, 22. They had originally planned to kidnap a soldier or settler and trade him for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Khaled Abu Jaudah stabbed Kokia as the IDF sergeant waited at a bus stop. He was charged Sunday in Beersheba District Court with first-degree murder, attempted murder, possession of a knife, preparing for an act of terror and using a weapon. He has admitted to killing Kokia and stealing his gun. He told interrogators that he committed the attack “out of a desire to do something on behalf of the Palestinians, and as revenge for IDF activities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.”

His half-brother was indicted for attempted murder, possession of a knife and obstruction of justice. Neither brother had a history of terror-related activities, according to the ISA.