Israel announced on Tuesday that it will demolish houses in the West Bank hometowns of two Palestinians who opened fire at a bus stop near Jerusalem, killing six people, and revoke work permits for hundreds of their relatives and other villagers.
The attackers, from the towns of Qatanna and Qubeiba north of Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, carried out Monday’s shooting at the bus stop on the city’s outskirts. Both gunmen were killed at the scene, reports sources.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that sanctions would be imposed on the attackers’ families and residents of the two towns. Every structure that had been built without permits in the two towns would be demolished, and 750 people would have their permission revoked to work in Israel, Katz said, noting that work in Israel is a main source of income for many Palestinian families.
Demolishing the homes of the attackers’ relatives and fellow villagers will discourage future attacks according to Israel, while Palestinians and human rights groups criticised the move as a form of collective punishment, which is banned under international law.
Police also said they had detained an East Jerusalem resident on suspicion of “assisting the terrorists in reaching the scene” and are continuing investigations into others involved.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the attack prompted an expansion of the list of communities where Israelis can obtain gun licences. “In the horrific attack, it was again proven that firearms save lives, when two armed civilians, who had received weapons under the reform we are leading, neutralised the … terrorists,” he said.
