Several homes of terrorists were already demolished, stresses father of Dvir Sorek - Defense/Security

Atuna was not 'the murderer' - he was one of a gang. Media portrayal is misleading.

Yoav Sorek, father of murdered teenager Dvir Sorek, who was killed in a stabbing attack in August, 2019 in Gush Etzion, has criticized the media’s portrayal of today’s Supreme Court ruling that cancelled the demolition order on the home of one of the terrorists involved in the attack.

“Atuna was one of a gang, not a lone terrorist,” Sorek wrote on Facebook. “The headlines in some media outlets read that the home of ‘Dvir Sorek’s murderer’ will not be demolished, but that’s not the whole truth.”

Sorek pointed out that, “The homes of some of the murderers have already been demolished, a while back already. The hearing today related to the home of just one member of the terrorist gang, not ‘the murderer’ as some people are saying.”

The bereaved father stressed that the way the media is presenting the story is certainly dramatic and “good for business,” but actually distorts the facts. He expressed the hope that the media will rectify its portrayal of the Supreme Court ruling, explaining the importance of the issue. “The media portrayal suggests that ‘the murderer’s home isn’t being demolished,’ when the truth is that several homes already were demolished, and this damages Israel’s power of deterrence.”

Today’s Supreme Court hearing came in response to a petition filed by the Atuna family and the Center for the Protection of the Individual. In her response, Justice Anat Baron stated that the demolition, if carried out, would occur so long after the attack that it could no longer be considered as effective in creating deterrence, and would merely be seen as punitive, which was not the intention of the law that allows the homes of convicted terrorists to be demolished.