The High Court of Justice ruled on Monday that Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara must hear and decide on an appeal filed by the family of Yuval Kestelman, the civilian killed after intervening in a Jerusalem terror attack, ordering that a decision be issued no later than February 15, 2026.
In a unanimous decision authored by Justices Daphne Barak-Erez, Yael Wilner, and Ruth Ronen, the court held that the state acted improperly when it declined to hear the family’s appeal against the closure of the investigative file into Kestelman’s death, citing the attorney-general’s prior involvement in the matter.
Kestelman’s parents and brother filed the petition after the Justice Ministry informed them that their appeal against the decision to close the Police Investigations Department’s review would not be examined. The state argued that because the decision had been taken with the knowledge of the attorney-general and the state attorney, the appeal could not be reviewed by the attorney-general herself.
On the eve of the court hearing, however, the state reversed its position, notifying the court that the attorney-general could consider the appeal after all, characterizing her involvement in the earlier stages as “limited” and amounting to no more than procedural updates. During the hearing, the petitioners agreed to the revised arrangement - on the condition that a binding timetable be imposed, citing the prolonged delays since the incident.
In its ruling, the court ordered that the appeal be decided within three months, setting February 15 as the final deadline and urging the authorities to reach a decision earlier if possible.
The justices emphasized that even where a senior legal official may be conflicted from ruling on an appeal, “the solution cannot be the deprivation of the right of appeal,” but rather the establishment of an alternative decision-making arrangement. Denying appellate review altogether, the court held, constitutes a procedural flaw.
The court further ordered the state to pay NIS 15,000 in legal costs to the family, noting that the petition itself contributed to the change in the state’s position.
Kestelman killed while intervening in terrorist shooting attack
Kestelman was killed on November 30, 2023, after intervening in a terrorist shooting attack at a bus stop near Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul neighborhood. According to investigations and eyewitness accounts reported at the time, he drew his licensed firearm and shot one of the attackers. In the chaotic aftermath, he was mistakenly identified as a threat and fatally shot by IDF soldier Aviad Frija.
The handling of the case has drawn sustained public and legal scrutiny, including criticism over early investigative steps and the decision to close the PID file without criminal charges.
Separately, military prosecutors indicted Frija, who shot Kestelman, in February on the charge of manslaughter with diminished responsibility; that case is proceeding independently in the military court system and was not directly addressed in Monday’s ruling.
Concluding their decision, the justices paid tribute to Kestelman’s actions, noting his courage in placing himself in harm’s way to protect others, a point that has featured prominently in public discourse surrounding the case since his death.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.