JERUSALEM (EJP)—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a swift probe after the burnt body of a Palestinian teen reported missing by family overnight was found in a forest west of Jerusalem.
The Prime Minister warned vigilantes “not to take the law into their own hands.”
Police said they were investigating ‘’several possible motives’’ in the teen’s killing.
The boy was identified as Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir, 16.
The body, which was charred and bore signs of violence, was found an hour after police were informed of a youth from Shuafat being forcefully loaded into a car.
Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that police had received word that the youth had been “pulled into a vehicle and possibly kidnapped” and had set up roadblocks in an attempt to intercept the vehicle.
Police later “discovered a body in the Jerusalem forest and were looking to see if there was a connection between the missing youth and the body that was found,” Rosenfeld was quoted as saying.
Jerusalem police chief Yossi Parienti called on the public to “exercise restraint” and not jump to conclusions regarding the motive for killing, saying investigators had yet to determine whether it was “nationalistic or criminal.”
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat condemned what he called “the murder” as a “a horrible and barbaric act which I strongly condemn.
“This is not our way,” he continued, “and I am fully confident that our security forces will bring the perpetrators to justice. I call on everyone to exercise restraint.”
Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel also came out harshly against the killing of the youth.
“The murder of a young man and burning his body is a disgusting act. I hope police uses all means to find the murderers as quickly as possibly and to bring them to justice,” he said.
Following the discovery of the teen’s murdered body, hundreds of Palestinian protesters rioted in East Jerusalem on Wednesday morning.
Protesters in Shuafat burned tires, smashed glasses at the light rail station, hurled stones at IDF and police forces.
Protesters also threw stones at security forces in Beit Hanina, as well three pipe bomb. One of the pipe bombs exploded, and one person was hurt and taken to hospital. There were no injuries among the policemen.