Skip to main content
Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Palestinian seeks early release in case that shook Jerusalem

Maysoon, left, and Saleh Manasra, parents of Ahmad Manasra, who has been imprisoned by Israel since he was 13 when he was was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to nine and a half years in prison, after his older cousin stabbed two Israelis, pose for a portrait with their daughter, Sham, in their home in east Jerusalem, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The 13 year-old Palestinian boy, whose case became a lighting rod for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seven years ago, is now a man languishing in solitary confinement and struggling with schizophrenia. This week, Israel's Supreme Court will decide on an appeal for his early release. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)
Maysoon, left, and Saleh Manasra, parents of Ahmad Manasra, who has been imprisoned by Israel since he was 13 when he was was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to nine and a half years in prison, after his older cousin stabbed two Israelis, pose for a portrait with their daughter, Sham, in their home in east Jerusalem, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The 13 year-old Palestinian boy, whose case became a lighting rod for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seven years ago, is now a man languishing in solitary confinement and struggling with schizophrenia. This week, Israel's Supreme Court will decide on an appeal for his early release. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo) Maysoon, left, and Saleh Manasra, parents of Ahmad Manasra, who has been imprisoned by Israel since he was 13 when he was was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to nine and a half years in prison, after his older cousin stabbed two Israelis, pose for a portrait with their daughter, Sham, in their home in east Jerusalem, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. The 13 year-old Palestinian boy, whose case became a lighting rod for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seven years ago, is now a man languishing in solitary confinement and struggling with schizophrenia. This week, Israel's Supreme Court will decide on an appeal for his early release. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)

By ISABEL DEBRE / Associated Press 6 min read


JERUSALEM (AP) — It was a crime that convulsed Jerusalem.

On a fall day seven years ago, 13-year-old Palestinian Ahmad Manasra and his 15-year-old cousin tore through the streets of a Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem, armed with knives. His cousin, Hassan, critically wounded a 13-year-old Israeli boy who was leaving a candy store and stabbed another Israeli man. He was shot dead by police. Ahmad was run over by a car, beaten and jeered by Israeli passers-by.

Now, Ahmad, a 20-year-old in isolation and tormented by psychosis, has asked for an early release from prison after completing two-thirds of his sentence. Several courts have rejected his request, arguing that even if prisoners would ordinarily be eligible for release after so long in prison, Ahmad — a “terror” convict — was not, regardless of his age or mental condition.

The Supreme Court will decide whether to hear his appeal in the coming days.