Two Palestinians on Sunday were convicted of murdering their employer for nationalistic reasons in October.
Yousef Kamil and Mohammed Abu al-Rub, both of Qabatiya near Jenin in Samaria, stabbed and beat Reuven Schmerling to death in a premeditated attack at Schmerling’s coal warehouse in the Arab-Israeli city of Kafr Kassem on Oct. 4, according to the plea bargain approved by the Lod district court.
The two will be sentenced in June.
According to details of their plea deal, the pair conducted the attack for nationalistic reasons in order to kill Jews and were motivated by their desire to revenge a friend who was killed while attempting to commit a terror attack in 2015, in addition to the heightened Arab uproar following the shooting deaths of two Israeli Druze policeman on the Temple Mount by three Arab Israelis.
The two men did not have permits to enter Israel and traveled to Kafr Qassem in late September illegally in order to work at Schmerling’s coal-storage facility. According to the indictment, Kamil wanted to enter Israel to kill Jews, ultimately convincing al-Rub.
They purchased a butcher knife and chose Schmerling as their victim, due to their dislike of him and due to work disputes. They also carried the attack out using a pickaxe and a fan.
His body was found later that day in one of the business’s storage units by his son.
After the attack, Kamil and al-Rub showered, changed their clothes, ditched their weapons and escaped back to Qabatiya.