NII chief: No benefits for families of underage attackers

Shlomo Mor-Yosef says payments also to be frozen for injured assailants, spouses of those killed carrying out assaults

By ToI Staff 31 October 2015, 1:38 pm

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A still image from footage of knife-wielding Palestinian teens who stabbed and wounded two Israelis in Jerusalem on Monday, October 12, 2015. (screen capture: Israel Police)

The head of Israel’s National Insurance Institute, Shlomo Mor-Yosef, warned Saturday that the organization would suspend child benefits for the families of minors who carry out attacks on Israelis.

According to the Hebrew-language Walla website, Mor-Yosef told a cultural event in Beersheba that following a government decision, “families of children convicted of carrying out terror attacks will not be eligible for benefits for that child.”

He added that “a terrorist who is wounded is ineligible for disability benefits [and] when a terrorist is killed, his wife will not be eligible to receive a widow’s pension.”

Many of the attacks carried out against Israeli civilians and security forces in recent weeks have been carried out by minors. On Saturday morning, a 17-year-old Palestinian was shot dead by a security guard at a West Bank crossing as he ran towards him brandishing a knife. The thwarted attack took place exactly a week after a 16-year-old from the same town was killed trying to carry out an identical stabbing at the same location near Jenin.

Israel has previously sought to discourage attacks by using punitive measures against the families of those who carry them out. This week, the Supreme Court slapped an injunction last week on a government order to demolish the family homes of several terrorists it says were involved in attacks over the past year. The state says it wants to be able to raze buildings within days of an attack as a punishment for terrorism, arguing that such a measure serves as a deterrent to others.

Channel 2 television reported last month that under new regulations, parents of minors caught throwing stones could be fined NIS 100,000 ($26,000). Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked was also seeking to impose fines on the parents of children under the age of 12 of NIS 10,000-20,000 ($2,500-$5,000), which would be returned if the children do not repeat the crime within a year.

Under current Israeli law, children below the age of 12 cannot be held accountable for crimes.

AFP contributed to this report.