Palestinians’ homes gutted over alleged fatal attacks

ISRAELI forces on Tuesday demolished two homes of Palestinians accused of killing an Israeli settler, in an operation that sparked more violence, AFP reporters said.

The homes of brothers Omar and Ghaith Jaradat and Mohammed Jaradat were demolished with explosives in Silat al-Harithiya village, near Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, by border police and the Israeli army.

Israel has blamed them for killing Yehuda Dimentman on December 16, when gunmen sprayed a car with around a dozen bullets as it drove out of the wildcat settlement outpost of Homesh. Two others were wounded in the attack.

The home of another member of the Jaradat family, Mahmoud, arrested in December like the others, was demolished in Silat al-Harithiya on February 14.

A teen was shot dead by the army in ensuing clashes.

On Tuesday, clashes erupted again between residents and Israeli forces, AFP reporters said.

The army said Palestinians threw stones, firebombs and improvised explosives at the security forces, as well as shooting live bullets.

“The soldiers responded with fire, and completed their mission,” a statement from the military said.

Two border police officers were lightly wounded in a possible ramming attack targeting their vehicle in the village, police said, with Palestinians reporting one person wounded by a live round to his hand and a number of others hit by rubber bullets.

Israel regularly destroys the homes of individuals it blames for attacks on Israelis.

The practice, which often fuels tensions, has been condemned by critics as a form of collective punishment. Israel insists it deters attacks.

Around 475,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank, alongside some 2.9 million Palestinians, in communities widely regarded as illegal under international law.