High Court cancels home demolition of stabber

The High Court of Justice on Tuesday canceled the home demolition for the murderer of soldier Almog Shiloni, who was stabbed outside of a train station in southern Tel Aviv in November 2014.

In a 2-1 decision, judges approved a petition to the demolition decree by the family of Nur al-Din Abu Khashiyeh, a Palestinian from the Askar refugee camp near Nablus.

The judges ruled that the 11-month delay between the attack and the release of the demolition decree was unreasonable, and that carrying out the demolition after such a long period would not provide a deterrent to further attacks.

Judge Zvi Zilbertal, who along with Menachem Mazuz voted to cancel the demolition, said in the verdict that the delay would “not lead to the desired, legitimate deterrent effect.”

Judge Elyakim Rubenstein, who was in the minority opinion, spoke in favor of a partial demolition of the building, saying that such a solution would strike the right balance between the long delay and the deterrent effect.

Yosef Shiloni, Almog’s father, told Army Radio that he was shocked by the news, having first heard of the proceeding and its result through the media. He said that the possibility that Abu Khashiyeh’s home would be destroyed “gave us some kind of hope that maybe something like this can deter other terrorists.”

Shiloni expressed disbelief at the ruling and the judges’ explanation that the decree was released too late. “What’s the definition of late? What’s the meaning of deterrence?” Shiloni said.

The High Court rejected another petition against a home demolition Tuesday by the family of Rajeb Ahmed Mohammed Aluya, who was part of the terrorist cell that murdered Naama and Eitam Henkin in October.

The court upheld in a majority opinion the planned destruction of Aluya’s apartment in a way that would minimize surrounding damage and not affect the structural integrity of the whole building.

Aluya’s wife had petitioned the court, claiming that the demolition decree had been hastily released without a true hearing, and that the investigative material against her husband had not been revealed.

In the latter case, the majority opinion also agreed that the military commander who issued the decree had used proper judgment, calling the move reasonable and proportionate.

Last month, the court lifted an injunction which had been placed upon a number of planned home demolitions for families of Palestinian terrorists.

According to a statement on that case from the court, the panel of judges, headed by court president Miriam Naor, also rejected an appeal against the entire practice of home demolitions.