Israeli forces have demolished two family apartments of Arafat Irfaiya, a Palestinian man accused of killing an Israeli female settler in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds two months ago. RNA - The Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported that dozens of Israeli soldiers along with military vehicles had escorted bulldozers and other demolition equipment which demolished the family home of Irfaiya, a 29-year-old Palestinian resident of the West Bank town of al-Khalil (Hebron) on Friday.
The Palestinian man was charged by the Jerusalem District prosecutor’s office in March with the alleged killing of 19-year-old Ori Ansbacher, an Israeli woman settler, near the city back in February.
Irfaiya was detained by Israeli forces during a raid on his home several days after the purported killing.
The report further said that clashes erupted between local young men and Israeli troops after the demolition, during which Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters and stun grenades towards protesters. No injuries were reported.
An Israeli court had previously rejected the family’s appeal against the demolition of the apartments.
Circumstances surrounding the murder of the Israeli woman are not clear. Ansbacher, from the settlement of Tekoa in the West Bank, was found dead in the woods at the Ein Yael nature center in south Jerusalem al-Quds on February 7.
Since 1967, the Israeli regime has been enforcing the draconian policy of demolishing the houses of Palestinians it deems to be behind fatal attacks against Israeli settlers. The practice, however, was temporarily halted from 2005 to 2014, with the exception of 2009, when scores of homes were sealed and razed in East Jerusalem al-Quds.
About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.
The UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.
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