Intifada of the knives, the Israeli army demolishes home of Palestinian assailant
Bachar Madhala, from Haja village in the West Bank, killed an American tourist and wounded two Israeli citizens in March last. Today the military razed his home, continuing the demolition policy desired by Netanyahu. Overnight, soldiers shot dead a Palestinian and wounded three other young 20 year olds. They were throwing objects at passing cars.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - This morning a group of Israeli soldiers demolished the home of a Palestinian who, last March, killed an American tourist and injured Israeli citizens in a bayonet attack. According to an Army spokesman, "the security forces, following government guidelines, have brought down Bachar Madhala’s house in the village of Haja, in the West Bank."
At the time of the attack, the Israeli security forces had shot dead the young Madhala, after he stabbed several people in a tourist area of Tel Aviv. The attack dates back to March 8 last - on the eve of the official visit of US Vice President Joe Biden to Israel - and caused the death of a 29 year-old US citizen, in addition to injuring a dozen Israelis.
Since last October, after ultra-Orthodox Jews engaged in provocative behaviour on the Temple Mount, incidents and clashes have multiplied in Israel and the Palestinian territories in what has come to be dubbed the ‘knife intifada’.
Since it began, 207 Palestinians, 32 Israelis, two Americans and one Sudanese and one Eritrean have been killed.
Most Palestinians were killed trying to stab or fire on passing cars or soldiers. The others were killed during demonstrations or clashes with the military.
Faced with this escalation of violence that culminated in the attack in Tel Aviv on June 8, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to step up the demolition of the homes of Palestinian assailants. A measure which, according to critics, is a "collective punishment" which ends up exacerbating the tension.
Confirming the continuing climate of violence, last night Israeli soldiers killed a 20-year-old Palestinian named Mahmoud Badran and seriously wounded two others near the village of Beit Ur, in the West Bank. The soldiers opened fire on three young men, intent on throwing objects, stones and rocks at cars (belonging to Israeli citizens) in transit.
The army leadership have opened an investigation into the affair. Israeli media report that two drivers were slightly injured by shrapnel and their cars damaged, while traveling along the road 443. This connects Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, crossing Occupied Palestinian Territories for several kilometers.
.png)
