Monday, June 6, 2022, 12:37 Petah Tikva Magistrates Court Judge Shimon Stein ordered the Israel Police to return impounded cars to Yeshivat Homesh personnel. Approximately six weeks ago, the police impounded the cars near the community of Shavei Shomron, claiming that the drivers had attempted to run roadblocks on the way to Homesh. However, at the court hearing, the police did not raise a claim of running roadblocks, and Judge Stein ruled that “under these circumstances, I did not find grounds for continuing to impound the cars, and accordingly I order their unconditional return to the petitioner.”
Honenu Attorney Adi Keidar, who represented the Yeshivat Homesh personnel: “We welcome Judge Stein’s decision to order the return of the cars. From the start, there were no grounds to impound the cars, and the court indeed accepted our request and found that there was no purpose to impounding the cars. Simultaneously, the court ruled that in some of the cases there was neither evidence nor reasonable suspicion that a crime had been committed. Rulings of this sort must reach the upper ranks of the police, who must consider their next steps and correct their actions in light of the violation of property rights and the situation of the owners who need their cars for daily use.”
Yeshivat Homesh: “The harassment of the police with regard to the equipment belonging to the yeshiva’s staff and students will not prevent us from continuing to voice the sound of Torah in Homesh. We are pleased that the court saw that there was no basis for the claims by the police and returned the cars to their owners. We call on Defense Minister [Benny Gantz] to stop hunting down yeshiva students’ cars and to focus on apprehending the terrorists who throw rocks at and injure Jews in the Yehuda and Shomron regions.”