Why Israel's army just demolished half of this house
The building in the West Bank houses an extended Palestinian family in which one brother, a Hamas operative and former prisoner, is accused of the murder of an Israeli police officer.
The building in the West Bank houses an extended Palestinian family in which one brother, a Hamas operative and former prisoner, is accused of the murder of an Israeli police officer.
Israeli soldiers demolished today the greater part of a two-story house in the West Bank town of Idna, reviving a policy of punishing the families of militants for their crimes. The house was formerly occupied by Ziyad Awad, a Hamas operative whom Israel accuses of the April. 14 killing of an Israeli police officer.聽
Mr. Awad's extended family, including his wife and five children, and his brother, Mohammed, had appealed the demolition order. Israel's Supreme Court ruled this week that the military could proceed, but that parts of the building inhabited by Mohammed and his family should be spared. 聽
The Monitor's Ben Lynfield reported last week on the family's plight and the controversy over Israel's demolition policy.聽
Lynfield reports that during the second Palestinian Intifada, Israel demolished hundreds of houses as punishment. The army later concluded that it wasn't an effective deterrent.聽
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