IDF notifies family of alleged Palestinian attacker of impending home demolition

Israeli special forces conduct a raid in the village of Silat al-Harithiya, near Jenin to arrest the men suspected of having carried out a deadly shooting attack.

Emanuel Fabian writes in Times of Israel, “The Israeli military said Monday that the home of an alleged Palestinian terrorist in the West Bank village of Silat al-Harithiya, near Jenin, is slated for demolition, after Israel’s top court rejected his family’s appeal against the move. Earlier this month, the families of two other suspects in the attack were also given demolition orders.”

“According to the Shin Bet security agency, a cell belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group carried out a deadly shooting attack last month in the northern West Bank, in which one man, Yehuda Dimentman, was killed and two others were lightly wounded. The family of Muhammad Youssef Jaradat appealed an initial demolition order issued by the military earlier this month, but it was rejected this week by the High Court of Justice. Jaradat’s family can still appeal the new decision to raze their home.”…

“Israeli authorities often take punitive action such as home demolitions before a conviction in cases of terrorist attacks. Israel defends the practice of razing the family homes of attackers as a deterrent against future assaults, and officials have argued that speed is essential, claiming that the deterrent factor degrades over time. Over the years, however, a number of Israeli defense officials have questioned the efficacy of the practice, and human rights activists have denounced it as unfair collective punishment.” (more…)