Israeli forces have demolished the family home of a Palestinian American man accused of being involved in a shooting that killed an Israeli and wounded two others in the occupied West Bank last May.
Montaser Shalabi was indicted in an Israeli military court over the attack near the city of Nablus in which student Yehuda Guetta was shot dead.
After an appeal in an Israeli court by Shalabi\u2019s family against the demolition was unsuccessful, the military said, the two-storey villa in Turmus\u2019ayya, a village in which many Palestinian Americans live, was levelled in a controlled explosion on Thursday.
Israel says such demolitions deter potential Palestinian assailants. Palestinians and rights groups condemn the policy as collective punishment.
Shalabi\u2019s wife, Sanaa, who lived with three of their children in the home in Turmus\u2019ayya, said she spoke with her husband by telephone on Thursday. She described him as a \u201cresister\u201d and resolved to rebuild the house.
\u201cThey want to demoralise us, but we are steadfast. This is the situation of the entire Palestinian people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Punitive demolition\u2019 Israeli forces have demolished the family home of a Palestinian American man accused of being involved in a shooting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c59-islamic-world"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/strong>In a statement after the home was destroyed, the US embassy in Jerusalem called on \u201call parties to refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions and undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution\u201d of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
\u201cThis certainly includes the punitive demolition of Palestinian homes,\u201d a spokesperson said.
\u201cAs we stated numerous times, the home of an entire family should not be demolished for the actions of one individual.\u201d
US criticism of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians was rare during the presidency of Donald Trump, who embraced Israel\u2019s settlements \u2013 seen by many countries as illegal \u2013 in the West Bank. US President Joe Biden has sought to rebuild relations with the Palestinians.
An official in Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett\u2019s office said: \u201cThe prime minister appreciates and respects the US administration. At the same time, it acts solely in accordance with the security considerations of the State of Israel and the protection of the lives of Israeli citizens.\u201d
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