Israel Razes Palestinian Attacker’s Home in West Bank: Military

Israeli forces demolished early on Tuesday the family home of a Palestinian involved in the killing of an Israeli in the West Bank in January.

The Israeli troops demolished the residence of Mohammad Qoneba in the city of Jenin in northern West Bank, the Israeli military said in a statement.

It said that Qoneba was part of a group that carried out a shooting attack near the settlement of Havat Gilad in early January, where Rabbi Raziel Shevach was murdered.

During the demolition, shots were fired and explosive devices and rocks were hurled at the forces, the statement said.

“As a result, a border policewoman was slightly injured in the leg and was taken to the hospital for medical examination,” the statement said.

Since Israel seized the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967, it has demolished hundreds of Palestinian homes as a punitive measure to deter Palestinians from carrying out attacks against Israelis.

In early 2005, a Defense Ministry committee concluded that the measure is ineffective, and Israel ceased to use it.

However, the Israeli government renewed the controversial practice in 2015, in the wake of a series of street attacks launched by Palestinians.

Even the U.S. government has called the demolitions as “counterproductive,” while Palestinians and human rights organizations denounce the practice as unlawful collective punishment to leave the attackers’ family members homeless. (Xinhua)