Court okays home demolition for accomplice in deadly Jerusalem attack

Balal Abu Zeid supplied gun, drove 3 attackers who killed policewoman Hadar Cohen in February outside Old City’s Damascus Gate

The High Court of Justice on Thursday green-lighted the demolition of the home of a Palestinian man who helped three others carry out a deadly terror attack outside Jerusalem’s Old City in February.

Balal Abu Zeid supplied the gun used by the Palestinian men who killed Israeli policewoman Hadar Cohen, 19, at Damascus Gate and injured two other Israeli cops five months ago. Abu Zeid also drove them to the scene of the attack, according to the court documents.

The High Court rejected Abu Zeid father’s appeal to prevent the demolition of his home in the West Bank village of Qabatiya, where the accomplice lived with his parents and siblings, including two minors.

The apartment, which is on the second floor of a two-story building, will be destroyed but the main structure will remain intact, the court said.

Border Police officer Hadar Cohen, 19, was killed during the terror attack at the Damascus Gate outside of Jerusalem's Old City on February 3, 2016. (Israel Police) — Border Police officer Hadar Cohen, 19, was killed during the terror attack at the Damascus Gate outside of Jerusalem’s Old City on February 3, 2016. (Israel Police)

The Qabatiya homes of the three attackers in the combined shooting and stabbing terror attack were demolished in April. The three were killed by responding forces during the attack.

The three attackers, in their early 20s, were identified as Ahmed Abou al-Roub, Mohammed Kameel and Ahmad Najah Ismail Nazar, and were also from Qabatiya in the northern West Bank.

They arrived at the Damascus Gate with rifles, knives and two pipe bombs, police said at the time.

In their decision, the justices wrote that Abu Zeid played a “very significant role” in the attack.

In his testimony, Abu Zeid said he declined to join the three in carrying out the attack. “I refused and told them that I wanted to stay alive and kill Jews,” he is quoted as saying.

The justices also noted that recent terror attacks in which 13-year-old Hallel Ariel and Rabbi Miki Mark were killed informed their decision.

Palestinians mourn over the bodies of three men who were killed by Israeli security forces as they carried out a deadly attack in Jerusalem, during their funeral in the village of Qabatiya , near the West Bank city of Jenin, on February 5, 2016 (AFP / JAAFAR ASHTIYEH)

“As these lines are being written, we hear that another terrorist murdered a 13-year-old girl, Hallel Yaffa Ariel, in her sleep in her home in Kiryat Arba. An inhuman evil, woe to us. And as we finish writing, the funeral for Michael Mark, who was murdered on a main road, is being held and his wife and two children are hurt by the terrorist’s gunfire… Terrorism spreads its wrath with no distinctions, no norms, with evil hatred. This war requires taking unusual steps in order to protect the public and create deterrence,” the decision said.

Israel frequently demolishes the homes of families of terrorists, but rarely does so for accomplices in attacks. Rights groups have argued the measure is unlawful, but Israel says it creates a deterrent against future attacks.

Cohen, from Or Yehuda, died hours after being shot in the head and stabbed in the neck in February. Two other policewomen were wounded in the attack. Cohen had been drafted into the Border Police only two months earlier, and was still in training at the time of the attack.

She was part of a three-member squad that spotted the three Palestinians behaving suspiciously and asked to see their identification papers. As one attacker withdrew his ID card, the others opened fire and pulled out knives to attack the officers.

According to police, Cohen managed to return fire before she was mortally wounded, despite being surprised by the attackers.