Center for the Defence of the Individual - The HCJ dismissed the petitions against the military's intention to demolish three homes in Hebron: the justices accepted the state's position that there was a "clear and urgent" need to deter the residents of the West Bank from committing abductions and killings
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19.08.2014

The HCJ dismissed the petitions against the military's intention to demolish three homes in Hebron: the justices accepted the state's position that there was a "clear and urgent" need to deter the residents of the West Bank from committing abductions and killings

On August 11, 2014, the HCJ issued its judgment in HaMoked's petitions against the intended punitive demolition of two homes in Hebron – the apartment in which lived the family of the fugitive who has been missing since the recent abduction and killing of three Israelis and the house of a suspected accomplice – and the intended punitive sealing of the apartment of the second fugitive's family.

The justices determined that although "There is no dispute that respondent's decisions would severely injure uninvolved parties, including young children", they are at the heart of the discretion and expertise of the military commander, and require no intervention. The justices also clarified that there was no need to wait for an indictment or a conviction in order to exercise the authority pursuant to Regulation 119, and that administrative evidence, on the ostensible responsibility of suspects in committing the acts attributed to them, was sufficient.

The court rejected HaMoked's claims of discriminatory application of Regulation 119, ruling that "in view of the fact that the aim of Regulation 119 is deterrence rather than punishment, the perpetration of heinous terrorist acts by Jews, such as the abduction and killing of the youth Mohammed Abu Khdeir, cannot alone justify the application of the Regulation against Jews, and the respondent's decision not to implement the Regulation against the suspects in this killing, cannot by itself point to the existence of selective enforcement".

The court ordered that the military refrain from executing any seizure, demolition or sealing actions until 13:00 o'clock, August 14, 2014, at 13:00, to allow HaMoked to submit engineer opinions for review by the military.

The military demolished and sealed the homes on the night of August 18, 2014.

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