Israeli Supreme Court Rules against House Demolition for Murderers of Palestinian Youth

Palestinian teenager, Muhammad Abu Khdeir. (Photo: File)

On the same day that four Palestinian families were delivered punitive home demolition orders after their relatives carried out attacks on Israelis, the Israeli Supreme CouMuhammed Abu Khdeirrt ruled on Tuesday not to demolish the homes of three Israelis convicted of brutally killing 16-year-old  in 2014.

The Abu Khdeir family had presented a petition to the Israeli courts demanding that Yosef Haim Ben-David and two minors, who were convicted of kidnapping and burning the Palestinian teenager alive three years ago, have their homes demolished, in line with an official Israeli policy carried out overwhelmingly against Palestinians who have killed Israelis.

However, according to Israeli news outlet Ynet, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected the petition, with retired Israeli judge Elyakim Rubinstein ruling that too much time had passed between the “abominable act of murder” and the submission of the petition.

At the same time, he reportedly emphasized that “Regulation 119” in Israeli law permitted the demolition of homes of anyone suspected of “terror activity” and of their “accomplices and supporters,” whether they are Jewish Israelis or Palestinian, Ynet reported.

Muhammad, a 16-year-old from the Shufat neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, was kidnapped and murdered by the three extremists in July 2014.

All three confessed to beating the teenager unconscious before pouring flammable liquid on him and setting him alight. An autopsy later confirmed the teen had been burned alive.

Mohammad’s father slammed the Israeli justice system for failing to uphold justice for Palestinians.

Last year, following the sentencing of the two minors, Muhammad’s father Hussein had said “Israeli courts have two faces of judiciary: one for the Palestinians and another for the Israelis.”

(Maan, PC, Social Media)

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