Rabbi Moshe Shevach, father of Rabbi Raziel Shevach.
Rabbi Moshe Shevach, father of Rabbi Raziel Shevach.Credit: Yoni Kempinski

Moshe Shevach, the father of Rabbi Raziel, who was murdered in a shooting attack about a year and a half ago attacked Central Command Chief Nadav Padan for not destroying the rebuilt house of the terrorist who murdered his son. The terrorist's house was demolished by the IDF a year ago but was rebuilt only ten months later.

Over six months ago, the Shevach family approached Central Command Chief Nadav Padan with a request to demolish the house of the terrorist which had been rebuilt. The appeal, sent by attorney Chaim Bleicher of the Honenu organization, stated that according to the pictures published in the media, it appeared that the home of Ahmed Jarar, the terrorist who murdered Rabbi Raziel Shevach, was rebuilt after being destroyed in a military operation.

Bleicher mentioned that according to security regulations, construction of a house that was destroyed by virtue of a legal order is prohibited and that the definition of an order is "including appointment, order, notice, demand, and permit." Bleicher also noted that there were precedents of houses destroyed during operational activity, and the authorities ensured that they would not be rebuilt, even when the house did not belong to a terrorist.

In the same appeal to the general, Bleicher requested that those responsible for rebuilding the house be arrested immediately and be sentenced to maximum punishment and that an immediate order for the house's demolition be issued. "Every additional day that the house is standing is a serious blow to the security of the citizens of Israel and a severe blow to the murdered person and his family," Bleicher wrote.

As noted, the OC Central Command responded to the family's request only after half a year, despite repeated reminders from the Shevach family.

The general responded that the building was destroyed during a military operation to capture the terrorist who had been entrenched in the house in question. "We will make it clear that since the house was destroyed in operational activity, no demolition and demolition order was issued."

The general explained that as a result, the construction of the house had been transferred to "the security forces in charge of the matter and the matter is under their examination."

Moshe Shevach slammed the general's reply and said that "demolition during a military operation can be considered an order. They're presenting the matter in such a way because people aren't familiar with the law. I have the feeling that the IDF or the Defense Ministry are having a hard time dealing with this and they prefer quiet. They destroyed the house once and then threw up their hands."

"It's not only in the case of my son that the homes of terrorists have been rebuilt. The terrorists know this and they rebuild the houses even better than before," Shevach said, adding that the army responds only when pushed into a corner. "They say that it wasn't destroyed by an order - but the law is that this order can also be a directive of a commander in the field, not necessarily a court order," Shevach clarified.

"It's painful that this is the way it is. I hope that they'll ultimately come to the conclusion that we really need to demolish it. If we demolish a house and two weeks later it's rebuilt, where is the deterrence?" Raziel's father concluded.

Bleicher said: "The response of the general arrived only after six months. It's unacceptable that a structure was built here that is all about supporting terrorism and encouraging the slaughter of Jews. They have already been investigating the matter for six months. In our petition, we proposed legal arguments for the immediate demolition of the building and even the arrest of those who support terrorism."

"Even if the military legal advisor decided that it was not possible to demolish it immediately, he had to issue a renewed demolition order as soon as possible and demolish it within a month. A building that is a symbol of terrorism which is populated without the army lifting a finger is a serious blow to deterrence and a primary security threat. It's time to act," Bleicher asserted.