Killer in court: Smiling Palestinian charged with brutal murder of Israeli teen girl

Arafat Irfayia, charged in the shocking slaughter of Israeli teenager Ori Ansbacher, appeared smiling in court on Monday.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

The prime suspect in the brutal rape and death of 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher was arraigned in a Jerusalem court on Monday and charged with murder. Arafat Irfayia, 29, showed no signs of remorse and appeared to be smirking during the proceedings.

Ansbacher was walking in the woods in a nature reserve near Jerusalem when she was attacked by Irfayia, who left his home in Hebron with a knife. Her body was found Thursday and Irfayia was tracked down within 48 hours to an abandoned building near the Jamal Abdel-Nasser Mosque in el-Bireh, adjoining Ramallah.

Strong DNA evidence linked him to the killing. The knife that was believed to be used in the attack was found at the time of his arrest.

Israeli authorities say they learned that Irfayia had been hiding in the mosque, which they raided on Friday. Irfaiya was not found but troops confiscated security camera footage from the neighborhood, leading them to conduct a second raid on the nearby abandoned building, where Irfayia was arrested.

Police escort Arafat Irfayia, Feb. 11, 2019 (Flash90/Yonatan Sindel)

On Sunday morning, Irfayia reenacted the killing for Israeli investigators at the scene of the crime.

Authorities have labeled it a “nationalistic crime” given Irfayia’s family openly identifies with Hamas and the fact that Irfayia has distributed material for the terror group.

Given the ghastly nature of Ansbacher’s killing, several Israeli politicians have called for the death penalty. Although there is a death penalty on the books, it has been used only twice in Israel’s history. Former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, whose party had sponsored a bill that would make the death penalty easier to apply, renewed his calls for it to be passed in the wake of the killing.

Ansbacher, a native of Tekoa, a Jewish town in Judea, was serving her year of national service at a youth center in Jerusalem. She loved nature and her friends have asked people to tour the country and post pictures of their trips in her memory.