Israel is not obligated to pay for the deaths of Arab civilians killed in battles between IDF soldiers and terrorists, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The court upheld a ruling by the Jerusalem District Court, which similarly found that Israel is not liable for the deaths of two Palestinian Authority resident civilians in the course of a counter-terror mission.
A family from Shechem (Nablus) had sued over the deaths of a father and son during a 2004 shootout between soldiers and local terrorists.
The family demanded millions of shekels in compensation. Relatives of the deceased man and his teenage son claimed they were murdered in cold blood, but the Jerusalem District Court did not accept their version of events.
Justices Esther Hayut, Tzvi Zilbertal and Uzi Vogelman found that the District Court’s ruling against the family’s claim was factual and correct.
An IDF commander was killed in the same 2004 shootout in which the two Palestinian Authority men died. A terrorist was killed as well.
A second IDF soldier was badly wounded, but managed to fire on the terrorist who shot him despite his injuries. He was later awarded for bravery.