JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Hebron resident who entered Israel illegally has been charged in the rape and murder of Israeli teen Ori Ansbacher.
Arafat Irfaiya, 29, was charged Thursday in Jerusalem’s Magistrate’s Court with rape and murder in the context of a terrorist act.
The naked body of Ansbacher, 19, was found Feb. 7 in the Jerusalem Forest outside of the Ein Yael Living Museum, where she was working with children for her year of national service.
Irfaiya was arrested two days after the attack, and he re-enacted the attack and murder for authorities, according to reports. Forensic evidence found at the scene had tied Irfaiya to the murder.
He told investigators that he had purchased a yarmulke in order to sneak into Israel and move about more freely, Israel’s Channel 12 reported over the weekend. He brought a knife with him when he entered Israel.
“I entered Israel with a knife because I wanted to become a martyr and murder a Jew,” he told investigators, according to the report.
The charges were announced a day after the Israel Defense Forces informed Irfaiya’s family that his home would be demolished. The family can appeal the demolition decision.
Irfaiya also was arrested in 2017 at the entrance to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem armed with a large kitchen knife.
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