Yesterday, Israeli forces destroyed the home of a Palestinian accused of carrying out an attack that killed a settler last year.
According to a statement released by the Israeli army, the house of Omar Jaradat was blown up in the town of Al-Silah Al-Kharitiya, west of Jenin, in the north of the occupied West Bank.
The statement said there were clashes between residents who threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the troops and Israeli forces who responded by firing semi-automatic weapons. According to an AFP photographer, two Palestinians were injured. In March, occupying forces blew up three houses belonging to members of the Jaradat family in Al-Silat Al-Haritiya. Israel regularly demolishes the homes of individuals accused of attacks against Israelis in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. These operations stoke tensions and are criticized as a form of collective punishment, but Israel insists that they prevent attacks. About three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, as well as about 475,000 Israelis in settlements recognized by the international community as illegal.