Israel’s Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously rejected an appeal against the demolition of the home of the terrorist who killed yeshivah student Yehuda Guetta, h’yd, 19, in a drive-by shooting attack on May 2.

The terrorist’s family, represented by Attorney Leah Tsemel of the radical-left organization HaMakoked, claimed that the terrorist, Muntassar Shalabi, 44, had no connection to the home since he lived in the US for many years. He was estranged from his wife, who lives in the house with their children.

However, the judges rejected this argument since Shalabi lived in the home continuously from 2006-2012, visited every year, and lived there for weeks before the attack. Additionally, Shalabi paid for renovations to the home.

Yehuda’s father, Elisha Guetta, sent a message to the court prior to the ruling: “I am appealing to the judges today…you are about to decide to destroy the home of this terrorist, because if not, you will be foregoing the most basic warning against the next murder. If you don’t choose what is truly best for Israel and its security, you will be responsible for causing the next murder of the next Jew.”

“I request of you – decide what is best for Am Yisrael so that we don’t find ourselves in a situation where another despicable murderer murders another Jew. This evil murderer deserves to be put to death, and as for his home, not one stone should remain standing.”

Shalabi held US citizenship and was a successful businessman who became radicalized while living in the United States for many years. He returned to the PA a year ago and was reportedly in dire financial straits due to losing money through gambling. He is a father of seven and some of his children [from his other wives] still live in the US.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)