Ramallah: Israeli forces on Thursday razed the southern West Bank homes of two Palestinians accused of shooting dead four Israelis at a trendy Tel Aviv cafe in June, the Israeli army said.
The Yatta home of Mohammad Makhamrah was blown up, with the windows of nearby homes shattered by the explosion. The second story of a building where Khaled Makhamrah’s family lived a short distance away was demolished by an excavator, witnesses told AFP.
According to the Shin Bet domestic security agency, the assault was planned after a July 2015 arson attack by Jewish terrorists in the West Bank that killed three members of a Palestinian family, including an 18-month-old baby.
Khaled Makhamrah had wanted to carry out “a revenge attack against Israel”, the Shin Bet said last month.
On Thursday, bystanders gathered around the rubble of what used to be his house, as a Yatta municipality bulldozer cleared the road.
A short distance away, Mohammad Makhamrah’s mother was consoled by women from her family in a building near the rubble that used to be home to her and 10 other relatives.
Israel routinely demolishes homes of Palestinian alleged attackers in what it says is a means to deter further attacks but criticis say its just a pretense to kick more Palestinians off their land.
Israeli occupation authorities have demolished 168 Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank alone during the first half of 2016, according to Israeli rights group B’tselem.
The demolitions left 740 Palestinians homeless, 384 of which are children.
In a report published last week titled “Unprecedented Destruction”, the group said the rate of demolitions in 2016 is the highest in over a decade.
In 2015, Israel destroyed 125 Palestinian homes, leaving 496 Palestinians homeless.
From 2006 to 2016, Israel demolished 1,113 homes in the occupied West Bank (not including occupied East Jerusalem) leaving 5,199 Palestinians homeless.
The rights group also drew attention to the psychological impact the demolitions had on Palestinians. Many live in constant fear that their homes will be demolished too.
“This policy of the Israeli government, systematically implemented for years, constitutes the forcible transfer of Palestinians who are a protected population in an occupied territory, and as such breaches international humanitarian law,” said the B’tselem.
The organisation said that the Israeli regime cites “flimsy legal pretexts” to displace and expel Palestinian residents. It also denies Palestinians any opportunities to legally build.
The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has harshly criticised the home demolitions. Saeb Erekat, PLO Undersecretary, said in a statement, “Israeli occupation forces are waging a systematic war against civilians and unarmed Palestinians in the West Bank, in front of the eyes of the entire world.”
He said the international community was to blame for allowing Israel to continue its “barbaric and inhumane policies”.
“Nothing is being done to confront Israel on their actions,” he said.
