Arafat Irfaiya, who is on trial for the terrorist rape and murder of 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher of Tekoa a year and a half ago, confessed to the deeds in court on Sunday.
In a court appearance last December, Irfaiya refrained from admitting to the brutal attack, even though is lawyer acknowledged that his client had perpetrated them. When the judge asked Irfaiya if he wanted to make a confession, the defendant elected not to respond.
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Ansbacher's body was discovered in the Ein Yael Forest southeast of Jerusalem in February 2019. Forensics determined that she had been raped and stabbed. Once the crime was identified as ethno-religious in nature, security forces mounted a manhunt for the killer, eventually arresting Irfaiya some 36 hours later in Ramallah.
The police have found DNA evidence tying Irfaiya to the attack, and Irfaiya also described the attack when questioned.
"I saw a girl. I told her in Arabic, 'Hi, I'm an Arab.' I saw that she didn't understand what I'd said," he told investigators.
He then told them he attacked her and stabbed her three times, then dragged her a distance of about 150 meters (500 feet). Ansbacher tried to fight him off and screamed, but no one was close enough to hear her.
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