In an unprecedented achievement, the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Advocacy Center (JLAC) managed to revoke an Israeli decision to demolish the home in a Palestinian, who was killed on Monday January 25, 2016, after carrying out a stabbing attack.
The JLAC said it managed to get the Israeli Army general commander to revoke his earlier decision to demolish the family home of Ibrahim Allan, after its lawyer, Raed Nasser Basheer, filed an appeal that includes various detailed field researches, and legal documents, proving that the demolition of homes in an act of collective punishment, in direct violation of basic laws and human rights principles.
Basheer detailed how collective punishment never worked, as the demolitions of homes belonging to families of Palestinian attackers were not a deterrent, but in fact, led to more escalation and vengeance attacks.
“We provided the military judge with all need documents, comparative and scientific studies that convinced him that all of his previous decisions were wrong as he never took the impacted families into consideration.” Basheer said, “This is an unprecedented move that could cause a change in Israel’s home demolition policies as a punishment for families of Palestinians believed to be involved or responsible for attacks against Israel.”
The JLAC said that this was the first decision ever, and carries a great significance on the legal level, adding that Israel recently demolished 27 homes in punitive, collective punishment, rulings against families of Palestinians who attacked Israelis, including soldiers and settlers.
It added that there are 91 outstanding demolition orders, which if implemented, hundreds of Palestinians, including children and elderly, will be rendered homeless, an issue that violates International Law and all related agreements, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention and the protection of civilians.
On Monday, January 25, 2016, Ibrahim Allan and Hussein Abu Ghosh were killed after carrying out a stabbing attack in Beit Horon Israeli colony, built on Palestinian lands, west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
A day later, a seriously wounded Israeli woman, identified as Shlomit Krigman, 24, died from her wounds at the Hadassah Israeli medical center, in Jerusalem. Another Israeli woman suffered a moderate wound.
The Israeli military commander issued the demolition order of the Allan family home on February 14, and only granted the family 48 hours to file an appeal.
The family instantly headed to the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Advocacy Center (JLAC), and the center immediately accepted the case, and started a relentless work to overturn the military decision, based on the fact that the demolition order in an act of collective punishment.
