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An Israeli soldier stands guard as an army bulldozer with a demolition permit pulls down the house of a Palestinian family near the West Bank town of Hebron on Jan. 20, 2015. (AFP/Hazem Bader)
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TULKAREM (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces on Tuesday raided two Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem and the central West Bank in preparation for home demolitions in the areas, locals told Ma'an.

Sources in the Salfit district's Qarawat Bani Hassan village said Israeli forces raided and took measurements of a family home belonging to Palestinian prisoner Abdul-Aziz Marie in preparation for a punitive home demolition.

Israeli forces detained Marie as an accomplice in the stabbing and killing of two Israelis in occupied East Jerusalem at the start of October.

Muhannad al-Halabi, who committed the attack, was shot dead at the scene.

Marie's family called for the Palestinian Authority and international community to stop the demolition.

In occupied East Jerusalem's Beit Hanina neighborhood, Israeli forces stormed the home of Omar Yasser Iskafi, who was was shot and killed after he allegedly hit one Israeli with his car, before stabbing another with a knife on Sunday.

During the raid, Israeli forces took measurements of the home, informing the family that the building would soon be demolished. Israeli forces reportedly detained the entire family during the raid.
Witnesses said that Israeli troops seized the Palestinians flags and a large poster depicting Skafi as a martyr for Palestine.

Punitive home demolitions

The demolition orders on the two homes mark the latest use of the punitive measure by Israeli authorities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for expediting punitive home demolitions in October, in a supposed attempt to deter future attacks against Israelis.

The move came despite past recommendations by an Israeli military committee that the practice did not deter attacks.

While families who receive demolition orders are given the opportunity to appeal the measures, Israel’s High Court of Justice typically rejects such appeals, according to Israeli watchdog Hamoked.

Israeli rights group B’Tselem meanwhile condemned the practice last month as “court sanctioned revenge” carried out on family members who have not committed crimes, amounting to collective punishment.

In addition home demolitions, punitive measures including withholding the bodies of Palestinians involved in attacks, arbitrary detention of family members, and closure of neighborhoods have also been implemented against Palestinian communities.

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