Terrorist's home rebuilt 8 months after demolition
The house of Ahmed Nassar Jarrar, who headed the terror cell behind shooting of Rabbi Raziel Shevah, was reconstructed after being destroyed last February during a military raid without a demolition order; IDF says it's examining possibility of another raze.
Jarrar’s home in Burqin, on the outskirts of Jenin, was razed during the manhunt for the terrorist last February, and a demolition order has never been officially issued.
The IDF is currently examining whether the reconstructed house could also be legally torn down.
Rabbi Shevah, a resident of the Havat Gilad outpost in the West Bank—which is still in the process of being legalized—was killed in a drive-by shooting attack near his home. He is survived by a wife and six children.
Shevah was shot in the neck and evacuated in a critical condition to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, where he was pronounced dead.
In February 2018, the Shin Bet received intelligence that Jarrar was hiding in a complex of buildings in the village of Yamun, 9 kilometers west of Jenin, in the West Bank.
Upon arriving at the scene, troops from the Border Police's counter terrorism unit Yamam called on Jarrar to come out. When Jarrar finally came out of one of the building, he was armed with an M-16 assault rifle and a bag full of explosives, prompting the Israeli forces to open fire and kill him.
Rabbi Shevah’s wife, Yael, said she wasn’t surprised by the news that the terrorist’s house had been rebuilt.
“Unfortunately, this doesn’t surprise me. As long as there is no permanent policy of deterrence against terrorists, this type of things will keep happening. We need deterrence … expulsion of terrorist families, house demolitions and much more," Yael said.
The defense establishment doesn't have a defined enforcement system to ensure demolished homes of terrorists are not rebuilt.The Civil Administration began the demolition procedures for the rebuilt house upon hearing the news.
Matan Peleg, the CEO of the right-wing Im Tirtzu movement, which accompanies the Choosing Life forum of bereaved families, labeled the situation “absurd.”
"There is no greater absurdity than seeing a terrorist's house being rebuilt without any obstacles. This brazen audacity stems solely from Israel's lack of deterrence when it comes to terrorism. If the house is not demolished within the next 24 hours, it’s going to pave way for more bloodshed. We must avoid it at all costs," Peleg stressed.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Office emphasized the military did not have a demolition order in its possession at the time of the raze.
"The house of the terrorist Ahmed Nassar Jarrar, who murdered Rabbi Raziel Shevah, was destroyed in February 2018 during operational activity to locate the terrorist … without a demolition order,” the statement said.
