A claim seeking compensatory payment for damages incurred when security forces expelled people from Gilad Farm in Shomron was rejected. According to the lawsuit filed in the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court by Moshe Zar, the 2002 expulsion was illegal and the state should be responsible for the damages resulting from the actions of security officials. The court rejected the suit and ordered Zar to pay NIS 30,000 in legal costs.

Moshe Zar is the father of Gilad and a short time following his murder, the farm was established near the site of the terror attack, and security forces evacuated the residents in 2002. 90 people, including security officials, residents and supporters were injured in the expulsion.

In 2004, Moshe, Itai (Gilad’s brother) and his widow and family filed suit against what they insist was an illegal eviction of the residents and destruction of property. They demanded NIS 700,000, explaining that in addition to property damage, their rights were trampled.

On May 29, 2001: Gilad Zar was 41 when he was murdered in a shooting attack. He was a resident of Itamar and was shot dead in a terrorist ambush while driving between Kedumim and Yitzhar, while on patrol.

Zar was the security officer of the Samaria Regional Council for the last four years, was hit by a hail of over 40 bullets as he drove on a bypass road between the communities of Yitzhar and Kedumim. The Arab terrorists shot at his windshield from a parked car, causing his car to overturn. They then got out, walked to Zar’s car, shot him in the head at point-blank range, and fled to nearby PA-occupied Shechem. Gilad died en route to hospital.

Zar was seriously injured in a previous shooting incident on March 25, when he was shot three times in the chest, hand, and leg.

Gilad’s father, Moshe Zar, one of the first pioneers in Shomron, served in the “101” special commando army unit under Ariel Sharon, and the Prime Minister was a close personal friend of the family.

Gilad Zar was one of the founders of Itamar. He is survived by his wife Hagar and eight children, the oldest 15, at the time of his murder, as well as his parents and seven brothers and sisters. Zar was buried in Karnei Shomron.

Today, Gilad Farm is home to 20 buildings, including the Shiru La’Melech Yeshiva. The farm appears on the list of unauthorized outposts that the current administration promised the White House would be removed.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)