Several dozen families who have lost loved ones to terrorist attacks wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this weekend, demanding that he promote what they called a "deterrence package" policy to dissuade potential Palestinian terrorists from perpetrating attacks.
Signatories to the letter include Michal Salomon, whose husband Elad was stabbed to death, along with his father Yossi and sister Chaya, in the Salomon family home in Halamish; Doron and Dafna Mizrahi, whose son, IDF soldier Ziv Mizrachi, was killed in a stabbing attack on Highway 443; Miriam Ben-Gal, whose husband, Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal, was stabbed to death at the entrance to the city of Ariel; and Adele Bennett, whose husband, Aharon Bennett, was killed in a stabbing attack in the Old City of Jerusalem and who was herself seriously injured.
"We will not accept another wave of terrorist murders of the citizens of Israel," the letter read.
The families want Netanyahu to announce deterrent measures that include the demolition of terrorists' homes within 48 houses of their being identified; the introduction of the death penalty for terrorists who commit lethal attacks; and an end to benefits for imprisoned terrorists.
Merav and Herzl Hajaj, the parents of Lt. Shir Hajaj, who was murdered in a car ramming attack in Armon Hanatziv in Jerusalem in 2017, said, "We demand a deterrence package that will be implemented immediately against terrorists and their families to prevent the next attack."
Alon Schwartzer, head of the policy department at the Zionist NGO Im Tirtzu, said, "An inclusive and effective package of deterrent measures is the only solution today that can curtail a terrorist's motivation to carry out terrorist acts, because they'll know that the harm it [an attack] would bring their families would outweigh the benefits."
Over the weekend, dozens of bereaved families gathered in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square for a demonstration organized by the families of Ziv Hajbi and Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel, who were killed in a terrorist shooting at the Barkan Industrial Park in October.
"Terrorists' homes must be razed on the day of the attack, or right after it, and the transfer of funds to organizations that assist terrorists must be stopped," said Levongrond-Yehezkel's father, Rafi.
Hajbi's brother Tal said, "We are here to shout on behalf of my brother, Kim, and everyone else who is no longer with us."
