“A ruling granting a tenth of the amount of the compensation claim will fatally harm Israeli deterrence and measures to eradicate terrorism through economic means,” argued attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner.
By United with Israel Staff
One year after a huge lawsuit was filed on behalf of the families of the three teenage boys kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists Marwan Kawasme and Amar Abu Aysha in 2014, the Jerusalem District Court ruled NIS 38 million (over $11 million) in compensation, Hebrew news site N12 reported Tuesday. The prosecution was demanding NIS 520 million ($160 million)
In June 2014, Naftali Fraenkel (16), Gilad Shaer (16) and Eyal Yifrach (19) were hitchhiking home for Shabbat in Gush Etzion, outside of Jerusalem. They entered a car and quickly realized that they had been kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists. On June 30, their bodies were found in a shallow grave near an Arab area northwest of Hebron.
The families of the victims have announced that they will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, N12 reported.
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder of Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center, which represents the families, explained that the prosecution’s goal is to stop the flow of funds that the Palestinian Authority transfers from its budget to Hamas, which is estimated to be somewhere between $50 million to $100 million per month. Since these funds are transferred to the various arms of Hamas, including the military arm, they can be confiscated as part of the ruling against Hamas, she said.
“A ruling granting a tenth of the amount of the compensation claim will fatally harm Israeli deterrence and measures to eradicate terrorism through economic means. We need legislation which will determine the amount of punitive damages to terrorist victims, who will receive what they deserve, and thus force terrorist organizations to think twice before they pay [terrorists] for their actions,” Darshan-Leitner tweeted.