On Monday afternoon, the Supreme Court convened to discuss a petition filed by the families of the victims against the partial destruction of the terrorist's home. Family members of the 2 murdered in the Barkan Industrial terrorist attack, Ziv Hazabi and Kim Lavenbrand Yechezkel, may the blood be avenged, demanded the complete demolition of the building.
The original order was to only destroy the two floors where the terrorist lived, excluding the third floor where his brother resides. After that order was given to the partial demolition, it came out that both the mother and brother knew of his plans. Making them culpable for having warned authorities of the attack.
A lawyer representing the two families petitioned that the original order be rescinded to give authorities permission to demolish all three floors.
Another petition was put forward on behalf of the terrorist family by a leftist organization, Hamoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual. The organization is being funded by the German and other European governments. Between the years 2014 to 2018 alone, they have submitted more than 70 petitions to the Supreme Court on behalf of more than 62 terrorists and their families.
The lawyer representing the terrorist family argued against the demolition since it was not yet possible to determine that the attack was nationalistic motivated, since the terrorist himself has not yet been captured.
Supreme Justice Dafna Barak Erez asked the lawyer, "what s the difference between this case and the case where the terrorist is dead? Even then we can't ask him what his motivation was and we demolish it [the house] based on an evidentiary basis."
A representative for the State Prosecutor's office rejected the claims that the attack was not motivated by nationalistic reasons. "The mother said in her interrogation that her son told her he wanted to die a martyr."
Kim's father was present at the hearing as well. He begged the judges to go through the with the demollision to deter other possible terrorists. "At the moment, I am the last bereaved family, and unfortunately I wont be the last. We must destroy the terrorist's house. This will deter and perhaps prevent there being other families. That I will be the last."
Ziv Hazabi's mother demanded of the judges that the entire house be destroyed. "The terrorist murdered Ziv completely. He didn't take a hand or a leg. I ask, as a deterrence, that the house be destroyed and that his family be sent away, because they are responsible.
Attorney for the families told the court, I think that this petition (by the terrorist family) be dismissed. Anyone who enters the Supreme Court must be clean and innocent, and here they entered with filth on their hands. A terrorist family came here without saying they were involved, without saying that he told his mother that he wanted to be a martyr."
Chairman of the Im Tirtzu movement, Matan Peleg was accompanied by a second movement, Forum of Choosing Life, is a friend of the Lavenbrand and Hagbi families. After the hearing he said, "It should be remembered that the (counter) petition is being led by the Center for the Defense of the Individual representing the terrorist and his family.
"We have reached an absurd situation in which every potential terrorist knows that when a terrorist act is carried out, his family will benefit from a wide legal envelope funded by foreign governments. This dangerous legal terrorism must be stopped. A flood that floods the courts with empty and insolent petitions and deliberately neutralizes the war on terror policy in the State of Israel."