CA 5964/92 Bani ‘Odeh et al. v. State of Israel Judgment

An expanded panel of nine Supreme Court justices ruled that the pursuing suspects in order to apprehend them without risk to the soldiers' lives, does not constitute a "wartime action" exempting the state from civil liability. The judgment considers the meaning of the exemption in the Civil Wrongs (Liability of the State) Law, prior to the 2002 Amendment. The court ruled that whether an action is a "wartime action" depends on an examination of the entire circumstances of the incident, such as its purpose, duration, and the threat preceding and anticipated from it. The court also ruled that an action may change from "policing" to "wartime" activity as it is taking place.