Witness: Israeli forces demolish two Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank

The Israeli forces announced that they demolished at dawn on Wednesday the homes of two Palestinians who carried out two separate attacks in the northern West Bank, killing two Israelis. In the town of Haris, west of Salfit, Israeli forces cordoned off the house of the family of Muhammad Sami Souf (19 years old) and blew it up.

The Souf family said: “This is the house of the family of the martyr Muhammad Sami Souf. The house consists of 3 floors and belongs to the martyr’s family. It was completely bombed.” For his part, the Israeli forces said in a statement: “Mohammed Sami Souf carried out a joint run-over and stabbing operation on November 15, 2022, during which three civilians were killed and four others wounded in the Ariel Industrial Zone,” before he was killed. Ariel is one of the largest settlements in the occupied West Bank.

In response to the demolition of the house, Mustafa Souf, Muhammad Souf’s uncle, said: “What the Israeli forces did was collective punishment, and this is an occupation policy and we know it, and the Palestinian people are used to it… We were sure that this would happen, we are used to collective punishment, and we know that this The occupation has no mercy and does not recognize international covenants or international law.”

In the village of Hajjah, east of Qalqilya, the Israeli forces demolished the house of prisoner Younis Hailan. The Israeli forces said that Younis Haylan carried out a stabbing attack on October 25, 2022, in which the Israeli, Shalom Sofar, was killed near the hotel village.

Jalal Heilan, Younis’ father and the owner of the house, asked, “I don’t know why the two floors were demolished? The lawyer in charge of the case told us that they would demolish one floor and leave the second floor… This is collective punishment,” noting that the Israeli intelligence told him that “it has information.” That the second floor of the house will become Yunus. This is unfair.”

According to the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, “since the beginning of the year, Israel has demolished eight homes,” including the two homes that were demolished today. The organization indicated that Israel demolished 17 homes in 2022 as a punitive measure, displacing 63 people, including 30 children.

Israel pursues a policy of demolishing the homes of those who carry out operations targeting its soldiers or citizens, and says it is doing so to deter them. The Supreme Court approves the demolition of these homes under the same pretext, but Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations consider it a means of revenge and collective punishment.