On October 21, 15, the HCJ held a hearing on
HaMoked’s petition for the cancelation of the punitive demolition order issued by the military against a residence in the Askar Refugee Camp. The order concerns the family apartment of the youth suspected in the stabbing attack in Tel Aviv, November 2014. The youth has lived in the ground floor apartment, together with his parents and five siblings.
During the brief hearing, the justices criticized the lengthy period of time that elapsed since the stabbing attack and until the issuance of the demolition order. The court advised the state to reduce the scope of the demolition order due to this delay. The mode of reduction was left to the state’s discretion. It should be noted that, already in
the objection stage, HaMoked had asserted that demolishing the entire apartment was an unreasonable and unbalanced measure, as it would mainly victimize the suspect’s parents and siblings. To that, the military countered that demolishing just the room in which the young man had lived was insufficient for deterrence, and therefore, demolishing the entire apartment was necessary. It should also be noted that thus far, in cases of suspects who were single and living with his parents, the state usually demolish the suspects’ room only.
The state representatives stepped out of the hearing to hold conference but returned without a reply. They therefore requested time to submit their response to the court’s scope-reduction suggestion by October 25, 2015.