Israeli Soldiers ready to demolish Palestinian attackers' homes
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - The families of Palestinians who carried out terrorist attacks in recent weeks have received notices that their homes will be demolished.
The demolition orders for the families of Ibrahim al-Akkari and Muhammad Jaabis, who drove their car into Israeli pedestrians, and Mutaz Hijazi, who wounded extremist Rabbi Yehuda Glick, were signed yesterday. All attackers were killed by police.
Israeli troops came to Akkari's home at dawn and handed his widow's the official military demolition warrant.
The home of the family of Abd al-Rahman al-Shaludi in Silwan (pictured) was destroyed yesterday. Shaludi drove his car into pedestrians on 22 October, killing two Israelis.
"The Israeli occupation wants to break up our family and displace us. They think that by demolishing the houses of martyrs they will deter the people of Jerusalem and Palestine, but violence begets violence," Shaludi's mother said.
Human rights activists criticise Israeli demolition policy, once practiced by the British during their mandate in Palestine and then used by Israel in the West Bank and Gaza.
In June, the Netanyahu government decided to apply it within Israel as a deterrent against "terrorism". However, demolitions have apparently led to an escalation of sectarian violence.
Israeli rights group B'Tselem said that punitive house demolitions are "fundamentally wrong" and contravene "basic moral standards by punishing people for the misdeeds of others."
Today, Asher Schechter, a columnist for the Israeli daily Haaretz, asked why such punitive measures "are reserved solely for the families of Palestinian terrorists", whilst "The homes of the Israeli terrorists who burned the Palestinian boy Mohammed Abu Khdeir remain intact." His conclusion: "The thing is, selective justice is not justice - it's vengeance."
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