Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher; Photo credit: Honenu
Monday, March 22, 2021, 13:35 In a plea bargain agreement signed at the Jerusalem Magistrates Court, three Arabs who were convicted of throwing Molotov cocktails at a family’s house in the Old City of Jerusalem will pay the family 45,000 NIS in compensation over the next six months. At the time of the attack most of the members of the family were at home, the youngest of whom was the six-month-old son of the eldest daughter. This compensation will be added to the compensation set in a criminal trial, bringing the total sum to 60,000 NIS.
The attack occurred on Yom Kippur in September 2013. Three Arabs threw Molotov cocktails at the family’s house, which caused a fire on their porch, causing a great deal of damage. Damage was caused to the wooden pergola, a wading pool, a wooden table and chairs, clothing, and school supplies. More damage was likely to have been caused to the family and their house if not for the efforts of the fire-fighters.
Some of the claimants were in the house at the time and “felt that their lives were in substantial danger”. Other claimants returned home from Yom Kippur prayers and discovered emergency and fire-fighting personnel extinguishing the fire. They were “horrified by the sight and concerned for the safety of their loved ones who had remained at home.”
At the end of the criminal trial a plea bargain agreement was signed, in the framework of which the assailants admitted to the charges in the indictment, among them: production of a weapon, arson and attempted arson. Active prison terms, suspended sentences, and payment of compensation to the family were imposed on the assailants. After the conviction, the family filed a civil suit against the assailants.
In the civil suit the financial as well as the physical and emotional damages to the family were calculated: “The incident constitutes a childhood trauma for the children of the family and a severe trauma for the parents, particularly the mother, who felt a great danger for herself and her children and extreme helplessness. She was concerned that the entire house would burst into flames and her children would be burnt alive.”
Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher: “Honenu will continue to work tirelessly so that any assailant who dares to injure Jews will be prosecuted. Every terrorist must know that he will be brought to trial, if necessary over many years, and will pay compensation out of his own pocket to the victims at the end. We hope that this will contribute to deterring potential terrorists and curbing terror.”