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Update: Israel demolishes homes of Palestinians accused of killing citizens

Xinhua, November 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Israeli army on Saturday demolished four homes in the West Bank that belong to Palestinians accused of killing three Israelis in early October, Palestinian security sources said.

The sources said that an Israeli army force stormed three homes near the city of Nablus and forced its residents out before blowing them up.

The three homes belong to three Palestinians who were arrested last month and they are accused of killing a settler and his wife near the village of Beit Forik near Nablus.

Another Israeli army force stormed the town of Silwad near Ramallah and blew up the house of a Palestinian also accused of killing an Israeli settler several months ago, according to Palestinian security sources.

Witnesses said that fierce clashes broke out between dozens of Palestinians and the Israeli soldiers during the raids on the houses in both Nablus and Ramallah.

Medical sources said that at least 10 Palestinians were injured by Israeli gunfire.

The Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday gave the green light to the demolitions, rejecting appeals against them filed by human rights groups who call the punitive measure "a collective punishment."

Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesman for Islamic Hamas movement in Gaza, said in an emailed press statement that the Israeli policy of demolishing houses "won't help stop the popular Intifada."

"Such measures would increase our people's determination to carry on with the Intifada and develop its tools," he said, adding that "Hamas really condemns the international community's silence towards these crimes."

Since the outbreak of the wave of tension and violent confrontations between Israel and the Palestinians in early October in the Palestinian territories, 86 Palestinians have been killed and more than 3,000 injured.

Also, 12 Israelis have been killed in a series of shooting and stabbing attacks carried out by Palestinians in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Israel in response to the Israeli measures in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Endit