The High Court ruled Wednesday against a petition from the pacifist group Yesh Gvul regarding the 2002 assassination of Hamas arch-terrorist Salah Shahada. The group had demanded a criminal investigation into the assassination, which killed 14 civilians as well as Shahada.
Justices Dorit Beinisch, Eliezer Rivlin and Ayala Procaccia ruled in favor of the IDF and government legal advisors and said there was no need for a criminal investigation into the assassination at this time. An investigation currently being conducted by the IDF and government is sufficient, they decided, and criminal proceedings will be considered only after the investigation is concluded. Yesh Gvul attorneys had argued that the investigation was conducted by a “clearly militaristic” panel.
"The dissatisfaction and lack of trust expressed by the petitioners regarding the makeup of the investigative committee are baseless and are no reason for us to intervene,” Beinisch wrote in her verdict. The committee's findings will be weighed carefully and further legal measures will be discussed at that time, she said.
Investigations conducted by security officials have found no reason to charge those involved in the assassination with any crime.
Shehadeh was a founding member of Hamas, and headed the terrorist group's armed forces. He oversaw hundreds of attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers and was involved in producing short-range rockets for use against civilian targets.
Shehadeh was assassinated in July of 2002. IAF pilots dropped a one-ton bomb on his Gaza house, killing him, his wife and daughter, a second Hamas terrorist and 12 others.
Yesh Gvul has used the Shehadeh case in its campaign against targeted assassinations of terrorist leaders. The group claims assassinations kill many innocent people and are therefore illegal. Yesh Gvul attorneys have harshly criticized the High Court for failing to rule on the Shehadeh killing earlier.