The Supreme Court sat for six hours today to consider the issue of whether or not the army can carry out a different kind of terror-deterring measure: deportation from Judea/Samaria to Gaza of the three Arabs who assisted their siblings in two deadly attacks. A decision is not expected until tomorrow or possibly the day after.
The Court asked the army to explain the basis for such a punishment. Counsel for the army explained that it is not a "mathematical equation," but that a preponderance of evidence has shown that this is an effective way of preventing terrorist attacks. Family members of terrorist victims were present as well, and some of them expressed tremendous frustration with what they felt was too much attention to the technical legalities: "If such a measure can save even one Israeli from being hurt, much less killed, then it must be done!" said a relative of Eran Picard, who was murdered in the Atzmonah pre-military yeshiva a few months ago. The mother of Assaf Avital of Jerusalem, who was murdered in the Ben-Yehuda blast last December, could barely control her rage: "My son was killed because he came to celebrate a birthday - and there sits a mother who helped sew the explosives vest, and the court deliberates on whether it can or can't deport... Where else in the world is there a Supreme Court like this, except for in the State of Israel?! Where?!"
Though the IDF’s military prosecutor has decided to freeze the demolition of the homes of two suicide bombers’ families in eastern Jerusalem, another terrorist’s home in Tul Karem was in fact leveled last night. Demolition crews razed the home of a wanted terrorist involved in several attacks, including the shooting spree in a Hadera wedding hall this past January that claimed six lives and left over 30 wounded.
The Court asked the army to explain the basis for such a punishment. Counsel for the army explained that it is not a "mathematical equation," but that a preponderance of evidence has shown that this is an effective way of preventing terrorist attacks. Family members of terrorist victims were present as well, and some of them expressed tremendous frustration with what they felt was too much attention to the technical legalities: "If such a measure can save even one Israeli from being hurt, much less killed, then it must be done!" said a relative of Eran Picard, who was murdered in the Atzmonah pre-military yeshiva a few months ago. The mother of Assaf Avital of Jerusalem, who was murdered in the Ben-Yehuda blast last December, could barely control her rage: "My son was killed because he came to celebrate a birthday - and there sits a mother who helped sew the explosives vest, and the court deliberates on whether it can or can't deport... Where else in the world is there a Supreme Court like this, except for in the State of Israel?! Where?!"
Though the IDF’s military prosecutor has decided to freeze the demolition of the homes of two suicide bombers’ families in eastern Jerusalem, another terrorist’s home in Tul Karem was in fact leveled last night. Demolition crews razed the home of a wanted terrorist involved in several attacks, including the shooting spree in a Hadera wedding hall this past January that claimed six lives and left over 30 wounded.