An Israeli Christian man has been charged with murdering his daughter due to her relationship with a Muslim man who was serving time in prison, according to local media.

Sami Karra, from the Israeli town of Ramle, was accused of killing his 17-year-old daughter Henriette on 13 June, because of her relationship and her intention to convert to Islam.

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It is believed Henriette fled her house in June after her family had used violence and threats trying to end her relationship, Israeli news site Haaretz reported, citing the court's indictment.

The girl, who feared for her life, hid at different locations, including at her boyfriend's mother's house.

After several attempts by her parents, authorities and social workers to convince her to return home or enter a women's shelter, Henriette eventually agreed to return home on 11 June.

The next day she attended her school's graduation party and later informed a relative that her boyfriend was due to leave prison and she intended to convert to Islam.

Her relative called Henriette's parents and informed them about her plan. The girl was found dead at her parent's house with stab wounds to her neck the next day.

During the course of the investigation, Henriette's mother told authorities her father had felt ashamed because of her daughter's behaviour, which he considered an "affront" to his family's honour.

After his arrest, Karra refused to answer any questions. However, during an interrogation that took place earlier in July, he confirmed he was the man seen leaving his house in a picture from security cameras.

Karra has a criminal record, and his last conviction took place in 2004 for crimes including intimidation, property violations and drug dealing, Haaretz said.

At the time Henriette was found dead, Joint (Arab) List lawmaker Aida Touma-Sliman, who heads the parliamentary committee on the status of women and gender equality, was quoted by the Times of Israel as saying the murder was another sign of the "systemic failure of law enforcement and welfare authorities in dealing with these cases of murder".

She added that some 15 Israeli-Arab women had been killed in the Ramle-Lod area in the past year, but only three men had been charged.

These murders have been sometimes compared to honour killings, whereby women and men are killed by relatives if they have acted in a way perceived as tarnishing of the family's name.

However, activists in Israel have rejected such comparison, arguing that some of the killings were not related to honour, but were the result of domestic violence.