Terrorist's home is blown up.
Terrorist's home is blown up.Screenshot

Security forces on Tuesday night demolished the home of Ziyad Awad, the terrorist who was freed in the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal and murdered Chief Superintendent Baruch Mizrahi Hy''d in April.

Some news reports claim that only a part of the home was blown up.

The IDF Spokesperson Unit released in a statement that the home was demolished on Tuesday night in the Arab village of Idna, located to the west of Hevron in Judea.

The statement noted that the 42-year-old Awad previously was jailed for murdering Palestinian Arabs suspected of cooperating with Israel, adding "the demolition of terrorists' homes is a serious deterrent message to terrorists and their partners, because there is a price they will pay if they choose to continue terror activities and harming innocents."

The announcement concluded by saying "the IDF will continue and take all legal steps standing at its disposal to harm the terrorists and the sources that aid them, and to deter further attacks."

Walla! reports that protests broke out at the entrance to Idna following the demolition of the terrorist's house.

The home was slated for demolition after a petition against destroying the house to the Supreme Court was overruled on Tuesday.

In making the ruling, the court noted that administrative evidence showing a terrorist lives in a house is enough for a demolition order to be given against it.

"Against the backdrop of Awad's testimony, there is no reason to interfere in the decision of the military commander of Judea and Samaria to order the demolition of the house of Awad," stated the ruling.

Indeed, according to reports Awad told his son Az a-Din that his motive for murdering Mizrahi was religious, and that "according to the religion of Islam, everyone who kills a Jews goes to paradise."

In the court decision, it was also noted that the building had been slated for demolition "for years" before the murder.

The Supreme Court justices also dismissed the idea that the ruling would hurt the terrorist's family.

"This is not the case of a family being punished unwillingly for 'sins of the father," the ruling said. The justices noted that Ziyad Awad's son Az a-Din was  involved "up to his neck" in carrying out the premeditated attack and that plaintiff number 2, the wife of Ziyad and mother of Az a-Din, was well aware of the weapons being held in the home and of Awad's training in terrorism. 

Campaigning for deterrence

Baruch Mizrahi Hy"d was driving to Kiryat Arba for a Passover seder meal in April with his pregnant wife and three of his children, when the terrorist opened fire on the family car, killing Baruch. Mizrahi served as head of the Technology Division in the Sigint Unit, part of the Intelligence Brigade in the Investigations and Intelligence Branch of the police. 

Mizrahi's widow Hadas supported the demolition, saying about the petition against it "we are talking about suicide. Look at us. We are innocent people who are suffering. We were driving to the seder in our car when [the terrorist] shot at us, he hit Baruch in the head, I managed to hide our children."

"He ran away," she said, through tears. "What cruelty is this! We did nothing wrong, we were innocent."

"Maybe demolishing this house will be a deterrent," added Hadas. "I am crying to the State of Israel: take care of us. We are your people!"