The Israeli occupation army gave last night the go-ahead for the demolition of three homes belonging to the families of two Palestinian martyrs and one prisoner accused of carrying out resistance operations in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
According to the Hebrew media the Israeli army approved measures to demolish the house of prisoner Younis Hailan who killed one settler near al-Funduq village near Qalqilya last October 2022 and the homes of martyrs Mohamed Souf and Khairy Alqam who killed and injured a number of settlers in separate operations last November 2022 and last January 2023.
Demolishing homes of relatives of Palestinians who harmed or attempted to harm Israeli soldiers or settlers is prohibited collective punishment according to Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. It is one of the most extreme measures used by the Israeli occupation state against Palestinian citizens.
“Over the years Israel has demolished hundreds of homes leaving homeless thousands of people who had done no wrong and were not suspected of any wrongdoing. It is an immoral and unlawful policy. The fact that the [Israeli] high court of justice has upheld it does not make it legal rather it makes the justices accomplices to the crime” the human rights group B’Tselem says on its website.
