Court sanctions razing home of Jerusalem terrorist
High Court denies petition by family of man who killed three Israelis in first bulldozer attack in capital in July, green-lights State's motion to have their house torn down
The High Court of Justice denied Wednesday a petition filed by the family of Hossam Dawiath, from the east Jerusalem village of a Tzur Baher, against razing the family home.
Dawiath carried out a bulldozer attack in Jerusalem in July 2008, leaving three Israelis dead. The defense establishment original motion to have the premises leveled met with a temporary injunction, despite Attorney General Menachem Mazuz' brief on the matter, saying such measures were viable.
Justice Edmond Levy, presiding over the hearing, ruled that the plaintiffs "failed to prove that demolishing their house would not serve to deter others and were unable to refute the State's claim that this measure is imperative in order to curb terror activities.
"The terrorist's had only one goal – to spread as much death and destruction as possible… three Israelis, whose only sin was being out on the street, were killed by his hand and dozens of others were injured," he said.
The claims of the damage the family would suffer "were not lost on the court, but they of not outweigh the action's effect as means of deterrence against others contemplating joining the blood trail.
"The claim of discrimination," added judge Levy, "has no merit."
The family had previously argued that Dawiath's actions were the result of temporary insanity and that since he was not a member of any terror organization, their house should be spared.
