Israel Destroys West Bank House of Palestinian Detainee: Army


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israeli regime forces early Tuesday destroyed the West Bank home of a Palestinian jailed for allegedly killing a Jewish settler in a knife attack late last year, the army said.

The demolition of the home of Maher al-Hashlamoun in the flashpoint city of Hebron was accompanied by clashes between dozens of Palestinian stone throwers and Israeli soldiers but there were no casualties, witnesses said, AFP reported.

Last week, Israel ordered an intensification of punitive home demolitions in response to a wave of anti-Israel protsts in occupied territories, dubbed by Palestinians a third Intifada.

Hashlamoun, a member of the Islamic Jihad movement, was given two life sentences by a military court in March for charges alleging his involvement in killing of an Israeli settler on November 10, 2014.

The home destroyed on Tuesday was an apartment inside a larger building. Witnesses said soldiers used jackhammers and other equipment to destroy the apartment, rather than explosives or bulldozers, as has been used in the past.

On October 6, Israel demolished the homes of two Palestinians behind attacks last year and sealed off a room in another.