Court blocks demolition of terror suspects’ homes

The High Court on Wednesday ruled in favor of a petition to block the demolition of the homes of two Palestinians suspected of playing a role in a West Bank terror attack last October that killed married couple Naama and Eitam Henkin.

Judge Noam Silber ruled that the two suspects were not directly involved in the attack, only in planning and raising funds, according to the Hebrew-language Walla website.

But the court did reject a similar petition by a third suspected accomplice, giving the state the go-ahead to knock down his home.

Also Wednesday, Israeli forces razed the family home of a suspect in another West Bank attack that left an Israeli woman dead.

The practice of demolishing of terrorists’ homes has come under criticism from human rights groups, while Jerusalem says the controversial measure is a key deterrent to terror.

The Henkin couple were shot dead as they were traveling in their car near the West Bank settlement of Itamar on October 1, 2015. Their four small children – the oldest 9 years old – were in the backseat and witnessed their murder but were uninjured. Four days later the IDF arrested the five-man Hamas terror cell responsible for the shooting.

In December, the IDF razed the home of Ragheb Ahmed Mohammed Aluya, the leader of the Hamas cell that murdered the Henkins.

The army said Aluya was the mastermind behind the terrorist attack, recruiting the rest of the cell, directing their activities as well as supplying the weapons used in the shooting.