Home of Jerusalem yeshiva terrorist sealed
Following court ruling authorizing State to destroy house of Alaa Abu Dheim, who killed eight students in capital, police, Border Guard and Home Front Command forces arrive at east Jerusalem neighborhood and begin sealing structure
Police and Border Guard forces secured the house sealing, which was authorized by the High Court of Justice several days ago.
During the house demolition, students of a local school began hurling stones at the forces. The school principal and teachers returned the pupils to the classrooms and the incident ended without any injuries.
In March 2008, Alaa Abu Dheim infiltrated the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva (rabbinical seminary) in Jerusalem, spraying gunfire that murdered eight yeshiva students and wounded dozens of others. An Israel Defense Forces officer who arrived on the scene shot and killed the terrorist.
House sealed (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Abu Dheim lived with his family at the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood of east Jerusalem, together with his father, brothers, and sisters.
Following the terror attack, a mourners' tent was set up at the terrorist's home, where Hamas and Hizbullah flags were raised, which helped the defense establishment identify the family with the terrorist.
The Home Front Command chief, relying on the opinions of the chief of staff and the defense minister, decided to exercise his authority to destroy two of the floors of the house in which the terrorist resided.
Abu Dheim's father appealed the Home Front Command's decision with the High Court of Justice, claiming that his son had no connections with Hamas and that it was not within the authority of the Home Front Command chief to issue a demolition order on his house.
The court rejected the father's appeal at the beginning of the month and his claims that Israel had changed its policy since 2005 and no longer engaged in the policy of destroying terrorists' homes.
The Supreme Court ruled that it was unfitting to intervene in the Home Front Command's change of policy, or lack thereof. Last Monday the final decision was made to give the green light to seal off permanently two floors of the house by filling them in with cement.
