Palestinian man admits murder of Israeli ex-girlfriend: Ministry

A Palestinian man has confessed to killing his Israeli ex-girlfriend, saying the murder was motivated by nationalism, Israel's justice ministry said today. Mohamed Harouf, a resident of Nablus in the Israeli- occupied West Bank, was arrested by Israeli police in August 2017 after the body of Mishal Halimi was discovered. The 30-year-old went missing in May, according to media reports, and a crime of passion was suspected as she had been pregnant and married to another man at the time.

"The murderer strangled her while she was carrying a baby in her womb and then stoned her and left her without burying her," said the prosecutor, adding that the two sides had reached a plea bargain. "We have arrived at this agreement to avoid a long trial and we will ask in agreement with the defence for a sentence of life imprisonment," the prosecutor said, quoted in a ministry statement. The court must determine a verdict at a date yet to be confirmed. "The court acknowledged that the murderer wanted to kill a Jewish woman for ideological motives," lawyers for the Halimi family said in a statement.

The victim's mother, Guita Zylberman, said "justice has been done" for her daughter. On May 23, 2017, the day Halimi disappeared, her family informed police who launched a manhunt for her former boyfriend, according to media reports. Halimi had been living in the Adam settlement, near Ramallah in the West Bank, but was killed in central Israel. A media blackout had been long been imposed on the case.

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