Conflicts & War

Palestinian killed, 20 injured in Israel West Bank home demolition raid

Jerusalem, Sep 6 (EFE).- A Palestinian was killed and 20 others wounded on Tuesday during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank to demolish the family home of a Palestinian man accused of killing three Israelis in April, official sources said.

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the “barbaric incursion” in the city of Jenin that resulted in the death of Mohamed Sabaaneh, 29, and blamed the Israeli side for the flare-up of violence.

“The barbaric incursion into Jenin is part of Israel’s systematic and deliberate escalation to turn the Palestinian issue into a security one rather than a political issue that has to do with peace and political solutions to the conflict.”

The Israeli army, meanwhile, confirmed it had carried out a military operation to blow up the home of Raed Hazem for allegedly carrying out a deadly attack in Tel Aviv on April 7.

Hazem’s house was reduced to rubble after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed by his family in May to avert the demolition.

For decades, Israel has demolished the family homes of Palestinians accused of committing deadly attacks, even before the suspects are convicted, a policy denounced as “collective punishment” by human rights entities.

Hazam allegedly opened fire on a bar in Tel Aviv, killing three Israeli civilians and wounding a dozen others. After fleeing, he was chased for hours and eventually caught near a mosque.

Official reports said that Israeli security forces shot and killed Hazem after he took out his weapon to shoot them.

In early April, the Israeli army launched the operation “Break the Wave” in the occupied West Bank in response to five attacks perpetrated by Palestinians on Israeli territory, in which 18 people were killed.

Since then, more than 90 Palestinians have died and 1,500 others arrested amid operations that have mainly taken place in Nablus and Jenin, according to Palestinian official figures.

Among the Palestinians killed were armed militiamen who responded with violence to Israeli raids in the West Bank, but there were also unarmed civilians, minors and journalists, such as Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh.

In recent weeks, Palestinian attacks against Israeli soldiers and settlers have intensified, and Israeli security sources have stressed the need to reinforce security in the area. EFE

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