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Israel steps up punitive measures against families of attackers

Xinhua, June 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Israeli military demolished overnight the home of a Palestinian who killed an American tourist and injured several Israelis in an attack in March, the Israeli army said on Tuesday.

The Israeli soldiers demolished the house belonging to the family of Bashar Massalah and situated in the Palestinian village of Kafr Haja in the West Bank, close to Nablus, according to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson.

Massalah murdered U.S. tourist Taylor Force and injured ten others in an attack along the Jaffa and Tel Aviv boardwalk back in March. He was shot and killed by security forces at the scene of the attack.

Israeli forces had demolished dozens of homes of Palestinian attackers in the West Bank and in east Jerusalem in the past several months, following a nine-month-long wave of violence, which claimed the lives of 32 Israelis and 205 Palestinians.

The controversial practice is aimed at punishment and deterring Palestinians from carrying out future attacks.

The measure is contested by human rights group and the Palestinians, who call it a collective punishment.

In 2005, Israeli security officials issued a report in which they charged that the demolitions are ineffective in combating security-related attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his cabinet are seeking to expedite the demolition of Palestinian homes, among other measures, as the wave of unrest continues.

Furthermore, Netanyahu also announced recently he would be seeking to advance other punitive measures against families of attackers, including their expulsion to other territories in the West Bank or to the Gaza Strip.

Israelis charge the wave of unrest is the result of "incitement to violence" by the Palestinian Authority, whereas the Palestinians charge it is the result of 49 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, home to more than five million Palestinians, where they wish to establish a Palestinian state. Endit