The Israeli military demolished a house in the West Bank: the family chose not to petition against the demolition order to the High Court of Justice due to a lack of faith in the Israeli justice system

On August 28, 2018, the Israeli military demolished a house in Kobar, Ramallah district, home to a teenager who is suspected of committing a lethal attack in the Adam settlement on July 26, 2018. The teenager's parents and four of his siblings, all of whom are high school students aged 13-18, lived in the house.

The family received a notice from the military regarding its intention to demolish the house on August 13, 2018. On August 15, 2018, HaMoked filed an objection against the intended demolition, claiming it would seriously harm the rights of the children living in the house, and that the parents and siblings of the teenager suspected of committing the attack are innocent, having had no prior knowledge of his alleged intentions. HaMoked further claimed that demolition of the family home constitutes collective punishment, which is prohibited under international law, and is contrary to the basic principle in Israeli law whereby a person cannot be punished for the crimes of another.

The military rejected the objection the day after its submission. The family chose not to file a petition against the demolition order to the High Court of Justice (HCJ), explaining that they had no faith in the Israeli justice system.

Indeed, since the renewal of the practice of punitive home demolitions in July 2014, of 66 petitions filed to the HCJ against demolition orders, the Court accepted only 7. That is, the petitions led to the cancellation of demolitions in only 10.5% of cases.