High Court to hear appeal against demolition of terrorist’s home

The Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal later Monday by the family of an East Jerusalem terrorist whose home is slated for demolition by the state as a punitive measure. Last week, the court shot down a government request to raze the home.

On August 4, Mohammed Jaabis, 23, from the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood of Jerusalem, rammed into a bus with a tractor and ran over Avraham Walles, 29, killing him. Jaabis was shot dead by police at the scene.

The family claims the incident was not a terror attack, but a traffic accident.

The state responded to the court that the demolition of Jaabis’s family home is essential to deter other future terrorists, Israel Radio reported.

Last week, security forces destroyed the home of Abdelrahman al-Shaludi, a 21-year-old Palestinian from East Jerusalem who on October 22 rammed his car into Israeli pedestrians in a murderous terror attack, killing an infant and a young woman.

That demolition marked a return of a controversial Israeli policy which is aimed at deterrence but may further inflame tensions.

“The destruction of terrorists’ homes sends a sharp, clear message to those who wish to harm Israeli civilians and security forces, that terrorism and causing harm to innocents carries with it a heavy price,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to raze more homes of families of East Jerusalem assailants.

For those whose houses have been condemned, it becomes a waiting game until they receive the date. After that, they have 48 hours to appeal against the order to the Supreme Court.

Two other families of terrorists in East Jerusalem have been formally notified that their homes are slated for demolition.

One is that of Mu’taz Hijazi, 32, from Abu Tor who on October 29 tried to gun down a far-right Jewish activist, critically wounding him. Hijazi was shot dead the following morning during a police raid.

Another is the home of Ibrahim al-Akary, 38, from the Shuafat refugee camp, who on November 5 rammed his car into pedestrians at the Jerusalem light rail, killing a teenager and a policeman and wounding nine, before also being shot dead at the scene.

Demolition orders were also served to the families of Uday and Ghassan Abu Jamal, from Jabel Mukaber, who on Tuesday last week were shot dead after attacking a synagogue with meat cleavers and a gun, killing four rabbis at prayer as well as a Druze policeman.

On November 6, following two deadly Palestinian attacks in a fortnight, Netanyahu approved plans to knock down or seal up the homes of anyone attacking Israelis as part of a raft of measures to “restore calm” in Jerusalem.

The punitive measure has been condemned by the international community, including the US, and the government’s own Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein is said to have previously objected to a return to the policy, viewing it as a form of collective punishment.