Second Palestinian pleads guilty in Fogel murders

A second Palestinian man has pleaded guilty to the murder of five members of the Fogel family in a West Bank Jewish settlement.

Amjad Awad, 19, pleaded guilty to the murders Tuesday during a hearing in a West Bank military court. The judges said they would examine the evidence in the case before convicting Awad on his own admission of guilt in the March 11 murders in Itamar.

Awad’s cousin, Hakim Awad, 18, was sentenced last month to five consecutive life sentences, equal to 130 years in prison, in the deaths. He also had pleaded guilty.

Both Awads are from the Palestinian village of Hawarta, located near Itamar.

Udi Fogel, 36, and Ruth Fogel, 35, and their children, Yoav, 11; Elad, 4; and Hadas, 3 months, were killed in a Shabbat eve attack on their home in the northern West Bank. Three other Fogel children survived the attack.