Murdered father Yaniv Ben-Shalom
Photo: Yedioth Ahronoth
Shot to death, mother of two Sharon Ben-Shalom
Photo: Yedioth Ahronoth
Terror victims' family sues Palestinian Authority for $172 million
Relatives of Israelis killed in murderous 2001 shooting attack submit claim against Palestinian Authority, six imprisoned terrorists
Relatives of Israelis killed in a shooting attack in August of 2001 submitted a damages claim against the Palestinian Authority and the six terrorists imprisoned in Israel for the amount of NIS 559 million (about $172 million).
“It is impossible to describe and to contain the pain, sorrow, loss and fury that have become the lot of the plaintiffs in this appeal, which is an outcome of the crimes committed by these malicious people,” as written in the suit’s introduction.
Deterrence
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According to the claim, two of the accused supplied their friends with weapons and ammunition. Then the armed men left Ramallah on Highway 443 with the intention of carrying out a terror attack.
When they arrived at the area of the Dor Energy gas station they saw a Volkswagen Passat in which Sharon and Yaniv Ben-Shalom, their two children and Sharon’s brother, Doron Yosef Sviri were driving.
The defendants bypassed the family’s vehicle and began firing at them with automatic weapons. A large number of bullets hit the car and its passengers causing the death of Yaniv his wife Sharon, and her brother Doron Yosef Sviri and caused severe injuries to their two infant daughters Efrat and Shahar.
The two girls were taken to Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in extremely critical condition.
The lawsuit also revealed that the victims’ family members only heard about the tragedy while watching a news update on TV.
Moments of Horror
Doron Sviri’s brother noticed that the photographed vehicle was his father’s and after identifying the sunglasses that fell on the car seat started screaming, “Mom, this is dad’s car,”…and immediately called out to his father for help, “Dad this is your car…Sharon, Doron, Yaniv and the girls are in the car…”.The plaintiffs’ lawyers, Ezra and Hannah Cohen turned to the judges and wrote, “it is impossible to imagine the moments of horror endured by their relatives, while the bullets of wickedness were perforating their vehicle and their bodies. It is impossible to imagine the moments of horror of a mother protecting her two infant girls with her body.”
The attorneys are requesting the court to approve the compensation of NIS 559 million (about $172) for the loss of the families and for deterrence purposes.
