Parents of murdered Arab teen: Demolish killers' homes

The parents of Muhammad Abu Khdeir, the east Jerusalem Arab teen who was murdered July 2014 in retribution for the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teens, asked the High Court of Justice on Wednesday to compel the Defense Ministry to demolish the homes of their son's killers. They noted in their petition that such a policy is routinely carried out against Palestinian terrorists.

"The state must treat Jewish terrorists the same way it treats Palestinian terrorists," the petition read. "The perpetrators [of Abu Khdeir's murder] took advantage of their status as citizens and showed blatant disregard to the rule of law, to the state and to the values that it was founded upon, the very values the state asks its citizens to uphold."

The petition also included a letter sent by the Defense Ministry legal counsel explaining why the military has not applied this measure to the families of Abu Khdeir's three killers. The counsel noted that in the wake of Abu Khdeir's murder, Israelis were united in condemning the attack, in stark contrast to the reaction among Palestinians when Jews are killed in terrorist attacks.

The petition also cited the July 2015 firebombing of a Palestinian home in the village of Duma, which led to the death of three family members, as an example of radicalization among Jews. It notes that such incidents prove that the deterrent measures used against the families of Palestinian terrorists should apply to Jews as well. "The defense minister's decision not to enforce this authority [when it comes to the homes of Jewish families] is unjustified and creates discrimination," the petition read. "His decision not to apply an even-handed approach when it comes to Jewish terrorists amounts to impermissible differentiation."

Abu Khdeir's father, Hussein, told Israel Hayom on Wednesday that "the court must order the demolition of the homes, to make sure there are no more Duma attacks. You say this [Israel] is the only democracy in the Middle East, but I would like to see whether there is real justice here."

The High Court of Justice has informed the family that the petition would go forward and a hearing is expected to be held soon.