David Bar Kapara
David Bar KaparaCourtesy of the Bar Kapara family

An indictment was submitted to the Central District Court on Monday against the two murderers of David Bar Kapara, the 70-year-old Israeli farmer they beat to death last month.

Details of the murder were revealed in the indictment against Mujahid Ali Mahmoud Dar Assi (21) and Alla'a Harbi Abed Al-Fatah Assi (22), both illegal aliens with terror records who had infiltrated into Israel from their home in Beit Lakia, Samaria.

According to the indictment, on June 23 the terrorists decided to illegally enter Israeli sovereign territory after Mujahid falsely claimed to Alla'a that Bar Kapara owed him money for work he had done at his vineyard, and suggested they rob him of the money he supposedly owed.

A day afterwards, the terrorists approached the vineyard between Pedaya and Carmei Yosef in central Israel in the morning, where they saw Bar Kapara selling grapes.

Mujahid, who had worked with Bar Kapara and therefore was familiar with his business practices, estimated that the elderly farmer had cash on him from the grape sales. They approached him and Mujahid demanded money from him.

Bar Kapara in response asked who they were, according to the testimony of the murderers, and then shouted "thieves." At this point, Mujahid covered Bar Kapara's mouth with a piece of cloth, and then the two brutally beat him with their hands as well as with a stick they found nearby.

The two continued beating him on the head and on his body until he fell to the ground, after which they continued raining blows down upon him, until the stick broke from the force of the hits.

During the attack, Mujahid dumped pesticide that was at the scene on Bar Kapara.

After their victim fell and lost consciousness, the murderers searched his body for money but allegedly only found a chain of keys. They then placed a mattress over the critically wounded man and fled the scene without calling for medical attention.

Once Bar Kapara was found he was brought to a hospital for treatment, but it was too late and he died of his wounds there.

The two are accused of intentional murder in addition to other crimes.

Not terrorism?

General security services initially investigated the murder as a terrorist act, but later based on the testimony of the murderers changed their opinion and claimed the murder was criminal in nature.

The decision has angered Bar Kapara's family, which noted the inconsistency given that if the murder was a case of crime, the assailants would have stolen something - which they didn't.

Indeed, even though a vehicle at the scene was worth a hundred thousand shekels, and Bar Kapara was found carrying the keys and cash on his person according to them, the murderers took nothing.

The bereaved family further noted that the killers beat him long after he was incapacitated enough for them to rob him - and they noted particularly that the killers were in their early 20s, whereas Bar Kapara was 70, meaning they did not need to kill him in order to be able rob him. 

That in addition to the fact that the murderers had a terrorist background led the family to condemn the police for covering up the terrorist murder.