The Nazareth District Court ruled on Monday that the State of Israel must compensate a Palestinian civilian who was wounded by Israel Defense Forces' fire in the Gaza Strip 16 years ago.

Aataf al-Makus, now 30, was left paralyzed in his legs and on his right side after he was caught in the crossfire during an IDF arrest operation in the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

The district court accepted Makus' appeal after the Nazareth Magistrate's Court rejected it on the grounds that he was unable to prove that his injuries were the result of IDF negligence.

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The district court's ruling was approved by a majority of the judges. Presiding Justice Hassem Hatib and Judge Ziad Hawari voted in favor of the ruling, while Judge Binyamin Arbel opposed.

The court ruled that the case would be returned to the magistrate's court to determine the extent of damages and to rule on the amount of compensation to be issued. It also ruled that Makus would be compensated for legal expenses.

In a landmark ruling last year, the High Court of Justice took a step toward relaxing legal curbs that had prevented civilians harmed by "non-belligerent" IDF operations in the territories since 2000 from demanding state compensation.

Nearly all of the West Bank and Gaza was officially declared a combat zone by former defense minister Shaul Mofaz for the majority of time since September 2000. Therefore, prior to the High Court's ruling, the IDF was virtually exempt from responsibility for damages caused there.

No such ruling has been made regarding incidents which occurred in the territories before the start of the second intifada.


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