Israeli military preparing to demolish house of Palestinian

The Israeli military says it has started preparations to possibly demolish the house of a Palestinian man who allegedly killed an Israeli woman in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds last week.

News ID: 443449

Date: 11 February 2019 - 15:37

RNA - The military said in a statement on Sunday that troops had entered Arafat Irfaiya’s home in the West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron) in order to measure the structure “to evaluate ways to demolish it.”

The statement said the troops “surveyed” the “house in order to examine the possibility of its demolition.”

Irfaiya was detained by Israeli forces during a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah over the weekend.

The Israeli police and the regime’s internal spying apparatus Shin Bet say investigations have so far failed to conclusively determine whether the alleged killing of the Israeli woman was a “terrorist attack” or was carried out because of other motives.

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 late Thursday.

Since 1967, the Israeli regime has been enforcing a policy of demolishing the houses of the Palestinians it alleges to have been behind attacks against Israelis. That practice has become more frequent in recent years.

Israel has been occupying the West Bank, including East al-Quds, since 1967. Ever since, it has been building settlements throughout the land, in a move condemned by the United Nations (UN) and considered illegal under international law.

About 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Due the support it receives from the administration of US President Donald Trump, the Israeli regime has increased its settlement constructions in Palestinian territories since Trump came to power in 2017.

Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.

The Israeli settlers, often escorted by military troops, routinely conduct armed attacks against Palestinian inhabitants.

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