Terrorist’s family challenges home demolition in court

The family of an alleged East Jerusalem terrorist whose home has been slated for demolition appealed to the Supreme Court against the move on Monday, claiming that he had not perpetrated an attack but was rather involved in an accident.

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

Jaabis’s family filed a petition against the demolition order in September with the High Court of Justice, which issued an interim injunction preventing the demolition of their home until additional ruling on the incident was handed down.

In Monday’s appeal, family lawyer Wisam Dachwar claimed that state prosecutors had lied to the High Court of Justice and disregarded the family’s claim that the incident was not a terror attack but rather an accident.

Dachwar said that state prosecutors had lied when they reported that police shot Jaabis after he struck the bus, arguing that cellphone video footage taken during the attack proved that the bus was struck only after Jaabis was fired upon by police.

“The man was shot at; it’s impossible to say that he was in control of the tractor, even after he suddenly turned toward whoever shot him. Why wasn’t one warning shot fired?” Dachwar asked the court.

Dachwar also presented the court with evidence from an interview with Channel 2 in 2009, when Jaabis took part in a demonstration with 30 other construction workers who were worried that tractor terror attacks would put their jobs at risk. “We’re scared that, if God forbid, something happens, they will think that we’re trying to carry out a terror attack — and then they will kill us without asking any questions,” he told the news outlet at the time.

According to the family’s petition to the High Court of Justice in September, the fatal shooting of Jaabis had no legal justification. They said they were seeking NIS 2.5 million ($650,000) in compensation.

In their response to the petition, state prosecutors told the court Monday that Jaabis did not try to get out or stop the tractor, and evidence showed that he intentionally sped up as he approached the bus.

State prosecutor Yochai Gantzin said that several minutes before the incident Jaabis watched a YouTube clip of the 2008 Merkaz HaRav terror attack in Jerusalem, which he said was indication that his actions were deliberate.

Prosecutors said that other video clips of the attack clearly showed that Jaabis had intentionally driven to the other side of the street in the direction of the bus.

The state told the court that the demolition of Jaabis’s family home was essential in order to deter other future terrorists.

Following the proceedings, the judges asked the state to address the family’s claims in a written statement and said that a ruling would be handed down in several days.

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, killing an infant and a young woman.

That demolition marked the return of a controversial policy that is aimed at creating deterrence but which critics say only serves to 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.

Along with the Jaabis’ family, 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 Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick, 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.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.