Israel demolishes homes of Palestinians blamed for attack on soldiers
Troops hold at least 12 Palestinians near demolished homes as nearly 5,000 remain displaced from Hebron neighbourhoods
Israeli forces have blown up the homes of two Palestinians who killed two Israeli soldiers in Hebron last week. The demolitions came on the eighth day of a military offensive and siege on the southern city in the occupied West Bank.
Troops demolished the homes of brothers Ahmad and Hammouda al-Jaabeh on Friday, after surrounding the buildings since the morning and sealing off the area. The brothers were killed after carrying out an attack on October 23 near the Farsh al-Hawa checkpoint, at the western entrance to Hebron, killing two Israeli soldiers and wounding three others.
Reporting from Hebron, Al Jazeera’s Mohammed al-Atrash said army engineers spent at least nine hours inside the homes rigging explosives before detonating them.
On Friday, dozens of displaced residents, including women, children and older people, protested near the closed al-Jalda roundabout. They demanded an end to the siege and the right to return home.