conflicts
Israeli army destroys home of assassin near Nablus
A Palestinian engineer inspects a destroyed apartment building. The Israeli army has demolished the home of a Palestinian who killed two Israelis six months ago. photo
© Nasser Nasser/AP/dpa
A Palestinian kills two Israelis – half a year later the Israeli army destroys his home in Nablus in retaliation.
Israeli radio, citing the Palestinian Red Crescent, reported that two Palestinians were injured by gunfire and around 60 inhaled tear gas.
Two Israeli brothers, aged 20 and 22, were shot dead in the village of Huwara on February 26. Then there were serious riots by Israeli settlers. The suspect was killed in March. He was a member of the military wing of the Islamist Hamas organization.
According to Palestinian sources, since the beginning of the year the army has destroyed the homes of 13 Palestinians involved in attacks on Israelis. Israel uses home demolitions as a punitive and deterrent measure. Human rights organizations classify this collective punishment as a violation of international humanitarian law.
The security situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories has long been extremely tense. Again and again there are clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli military in the West Bank. The army has been carrying out more raids there since a series of attacks on Israelis that began last year.
Since the beginning of the year, 174 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations, confrontations or after their own attacks. During the same period, 24 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian were killed in attacks.
Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War. The Palestinians claim the areas for their own state.