In a
petition filed to the HCJ on April 5, 2016, HaMoked asked for a hearing on the issues of principle concerning house demolitions before an extended panel. HaMoked petitioned against a demolition order issued for the home of a young man from Qabatiya, Salfit District, who is suspected of involvement in an attack in Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.
HaMoked argued that the decision to demolish the entire house, home to the young man’s parents and eight siblings, is disproportionate, especially given the family’s lack of involvement in the actions attributed to the son.
HaMoked noted that since the HCJ rejected a previous request for a hearing in front of an extended panel (
HCJFH 360/15) on the legality of Regulation 119, a decision issued on November 12, 2015, dozens more petitions against house demolitions have been filed, without the issues of principle ever being discussed. Recently, several Supreme Court justices criticized the house demolition policy in their judgments. Others stated they considered themselves bound by case law and disinclined to stray from it for fear of turning the court from a court of justice to a “court of justices”. HaMoked cautions that towing the line on the one hand, and increased use of Regulation 119 on the other, result in the destruction of scores of family homes.
The HCJ issued an interim injunction preventing the demolition pending further decision.
