The High Court for justice canceled the demolition order against the home of Nur al-Din Abu Hashiya, the Arab terrorist who stabbed 20-year-old First Sergeant Almog Shiloni to death outside Tel Aviv’s Hahagana Train Station in November 2014. 

The panel of justices – Elyakim Rubenstein, Menachem Mazuz, and Tzvi Zilbertal – determined that the 11 months which passed between the attack and the decision to destroy the terrorist’s home was too much time. Rubinstein supported partial demolition of the home, but was apparently overruled. 

Mazuz and Zilbertal argued that the home demolition “would not deter other terrorists,” after so much time has passed. 

“Therefore, especially in light of the interests which will be hurt by a demolition under considerable delay, my position is that the exertion of authority at this stage would be unreasonable and inappropriate,” Zilbertal added. 

Rubinstein stated, by contrast, that a partial demolition would both demonstrate “an appropriate balance between the time the event occured and the issuance of the demolition order” and that it would “achieve deterrence.”