Israel demolishes homes of Palestinian killers

Israeli troops razed the West Bank homes of four Palestinians accused of attacking Israelis yesterday, pressing a controversial policy of punitive demolitions after weeks of deadly unrest.

At the Jewish Federations of North America’s annual conference this week in Washington, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was still in favor of “two states for two peoples”. “We will find the despicable murderers and bring them to justice as we have in the past”, he said.

Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, praised the attack but stopped short of claiming responsibility for it.

The military carried out the demolition orders after clearance from the Supreme Court, saying the three homes in Nablus belonged to attackers who killed an Israeli couple in front of their children in the West Bank October 1.

14 Israelis in a series of stabbings, shootings and vehicular attacks that began in Jerusalem but spread to the West Bank.

Israel has accused Palestinian political and religious leaders of inciting the violence that is glorified in detail on Palestinian social media sites. Palestinians say the violence is due to a lack of hope for gaining independence.

It is in Israel’s interest to improve Palestinian infrastructure and boost economic and educational ties between the two nations, Rivlin said, noting that such steps “should have started yesterday”.

They said the man was shot at a demonstration that followed the funeral of a villager who was killed in an undercover Israeli raid on a hospital. Innocent Palestinians fear being mistaken for a terrorist and arrested or shot by Israeli police. Footage of the attack showed a masked youth attack Rabbi Arik Ascherman and threaten him with a knife as he and other Israeli peace activists helped Palestinians harvest their olive trees in the West Bank.

After Friday prayers in the Gaza Strip, hundreds of Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli soldiers on the border.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair launched a new campaign for a peace agreement between Israel and Palestinians in Jerusalem on Friday.