Israeli army blows up 2 Palestinian homes in West Bank city amid escalation

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army detonated two Palestinian homes in the West Bank city of Hebron on Wednesday, witnesses said.

Israeli forces stormed the apartments of Ahmad Al-Haimouni and Muhammad Misk early in the morning and blew them up, they said.

Israeli authorities accuse Haimouni and Misk of involvement in a shooting attack that killed seven Israelis last October.

While Misk was killed, Haimouni was injured and arrested by the Israeli forces.

The Israeli policy of Palestinian home demolitions, especially for Palestinians who carry out attacks against Israeli targets, is widely seen as a form of internationally-prohibited collective punishment.

The Israeli army has been conducting military operations in the northern West Bank since Jan. 21, killing at least 65 people and displacing thousands.

Palestinian authorities have warned that the Israeli military offensive is part of a broader plan by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to annex the occupied West Bank and declare sovereignty over it, which could officially mark the end of the two-state solution.

Tension has been running high across the West Bank, where at least 930 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 others injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.