Hussein Yousef Khalifa, upon his arrest
Hussein Yousef Khalifa, upon his arrestHagai Aharon/Flash90

The murderer of 20 year-old Israeli Shelly Dadon (hy"d) retracted his confession in court on Sunday, claiming that his confession was made after being subject to lengthy interrogations and physical violence. 

"We believe that the confessions were collected illegally, applying tremendous pressure on him - including physical violence," attorney Ala Suleiman, who represents the defendant, 34-year-old Hussein Yousef Khalifa from the Arab village of Iblin in the Galilee, accused Sunday. 

This "violence," according to the defense, included "binding the hands for 15 or 16 hours behind a chair, while investigators approached him threateningly, shouting at him while pointing the finger at him and saying that he would remain in prison for many years, even for life."

His attorneys also told Voice of the Moment Radio Sunday that Khalifa "had been denied many, many hours of sleep. He slept no more than eight hours a week," while under ISA custody, they claimed. 

"We believe that in these circumstances it is impossible to rely on these confessions, even that in themselves are filled with many contradictions and inaccurate information," they added. "I think the court will not accept these admissions anyway."

Khalifa confessed to the murder in July, after an extensive interrogation from the Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet).

The indictment states that Khalifa "showed no mercy" on the 20-year old, whom he stabbed dozens of times for "nationalistic motivations."

He then fled the scene, discarding the murder weapon and Dadon's cell phone after dumping the body near the murder site. He later washed the bloodstains from his cab and threw Dadon's wallet on the side of the road near the Arab village of Beit Zarzir. 

The indictment said that Khalifa had confessed to "many details of the murder" and had even reenacted it for investigators.

Even soon after the confession was published in the press, however, Khalifa attempted to deny what he had said. 

"I didn't do it," he claimed at the time. "I broke down and admitted the murder after I was interrogated by investigators."