The Jerusalem Magistrates Court has rejected a claim for compensation filed by the family of suicide bomber Izz a-Din al-Masri. Masri's family sued the state for damages after their house, which was used by Masri prior to the attack, was demolished in response to the bombing.
Masri murdered 15 people, seven of them children, in the Sbarro restaurant in downtown Jerusalem in 2001. One hundred and thirty people were wounded in the attack. Masri's assistant, Ahlam Tamimi, was sentenced to life for her role in the bombing.
Judge Yoel Tzur ruled that demolishing the Masri home was an appropriate and legal response to the murderous attack. Under wartime laws, including those laws accepted by the international community, a country may demolish property in order to deter attacks, Tzur said.
Israel's destruction of terrorists' property can be defined as a method of deterrence, he concluded.
Tzur rejected the Masri family's claim that the house was destroyed in a negligent manner. A review of the demolition shows that the army took extra precautions, he said, and even practiced the demolition beforehand to ensure that the process would run smoothly. The Masri family was given more than enough time to remove their belongings from the building, he determined.
The use of property demolitions as a deterrent has recently been debated in connection to a series of attacks in Jerusalem. Several politicians and prominent activists have pressured the government to demolish the houses of the terrorists involved in order to deter future attacks.
Following the fatal shooting at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, angry civilians stormed the terrorist's neighborhood and threatened to destroy his house themselves, but were stopped by police. The part of the building used by the terrorist was later sealed off with concrete.