The conflict between Israel and Hamas allegedly motivated an Illinois man to murder a six-year-old Palestinian-American boy, according to prosecutors. The full details of the incident have not yet been established. But this tragic story highlights how inflamed tensions have become over the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East.

A Plainfield Township landlord is accused of killing a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy and stabbing that boy's mother because they were Muslim.

Prosecutors said Joseph Czuba, 71, wanted the victims to move out of the home they rented from him, and believed he and his wife "were in danger," because he feared the woman he stabbed "was going to call over her Palestinian friends or family to harm them."

Czuba now faces several charges, including three counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated battery, and two hate crime counts. The two victims were targeted because they were Muslim and because of the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the Will County Sheriff's Office.

During his first court appearance on Monday, a Will County judge denied Czuba pretrial release, after prosecutors argued he was a danger to both the boy's mother and the general public.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday announced that the Justice Department is also opening a hate crimes investigation into the killing.

“I am heartbroken by the abhorrent killing of Wadea Al-Fayoume, a six year old child who died after being stabbed 26 times with a military-style knife. On behalf of the entire Justice Department, I want to express my deepest condolences to his family and his community as they grieve his loss,” Garland said in a statement.”

Garland also noted that the incident “cannot help but further raise the fears of Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities in our country with regard to hate-fueled violence” and affirmed that “no one in the United States of America should have to live in fear of violence because of how they worship or where they or their family came from.”

Czuba’s public defender highlighted his client’s background, emphasizing that he was an Air Force veteran who was honorably discharged and that he owns several properties. The defendant is also dealing with ongoing health issues related to prostate cancer.

His wife told the authorities that he was “heavily interested” in the Middle East conflict and neighbors described him as eccentric and said they had been concerned about signs in front of his house, some of which were political and religious.

This horrifying incident presents a myriad of angles to look at. On one hand, it could actually be a crime fueled by bigotry and an irrational fear of “the other.” It is entirely possible, even likely, that this was Czuba’s true motivation. We saw this take place after the 9/11 terrorist attacks when American Muslims were subject to hostility by those without the capacity to understand that not all people who practice Islam are aligned with terrorists.

Both official and community-based organization tabulations-derived from self-reported incidents and newspaper accounts-clearly demonstrate the severity of the September 11 backlash. The FBI reported that the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes rose from twenty-eight in 2000 to 481 in 2001, a seventeen-fold increase.70 The ADC reported over six hundred September 11-related hate crimes committed against Arabs, Muslims, and those perceived to be Arab or Muslim, such as Sikhs and South Asians.71 Tabulating backlash incidents ranging from verbal taunts to employment discrimination to airport profiling to hate crimes, CAIR reported one thousand seven hundred and seventeen incidents of backlash discrimination against Muslims from September 11 through February 2002.

There is also the possibility that mental health could have played a role in this atrocity. While it certainly does not excuse Czuba's actions – he is accused of brutally murdering a six-year-old boy – it could offer a fuller picture of this particular incident.

We also cannot rule out personal motives as well. The reports note Czuba’s fear that Shahin would invite “her Palestinian friends or family to harm them.” This could point to a distorted sense of self-preservation gone wrong rather than an ideological stance. Of course, it is worth asking what threat he could have perceived coming from a small child, in this case.

While we do not know all the facts yet, there is one thing that is clear: A boy is dead because of the vicious actions of another. Regardless of the motivation, this is yet another tragedy that has occurred against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East.