JENIN, February 4, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli army forces have blocked all roads leading to the town of Qabatia, south of Jenin in the West Bank, and considered the initial procedures for demolishing the homes of the three teenagers who were shot dead by Israeli police on Wednesday, according to local sources.

Since early night hours Wednesday, witnesses said, large-scale Israeli troops accompanied by heavy machinery gathered at almost all roads leading to Qabatia and have since denied the entry and exit of local Palestinians into and out of the town.

Troops also closed with earth mounds the entrances leading to the town, and set up makeshift tents there.

About two hours later, troops advanced into the town and raided the homes of the three teenagers, who had reportedly killed one Israeli police officer and injured three others in a gunfire and stabbing attack in Jerusalem yesterday.

During the raid last night, army officers interrogated the families of the three teens for long hours, as well as performed some measurements in the homes prior to demolishing them, as a collective punishment against their families.

The army also detained six Palestinians during the raid. They were identified as Tareq Kmail, Motasem Abu Harza, Nasri Abur-Rob, Ahmad Nazzal, Mohammad Abu Gherab, and Ahmad Abdul-Khalil.

Soldiers also mounted the rooftops of many homes in the town and denied local students’ access to their schools, provoking sporadic clashes with them.

At least three Palestinians were injured by Israeli fire during the clashes, and were transferred to nearby Jenin public hospital for medical treatment, where their cases were described as stable. Several others also sustained suffocation by inhaling teargas used by the Israeli troops.

In November 2015, the United Nations’ Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, Robert Riper, contended that Israel’s punitive home demolition policy taken against Palestinians suspected of carrying out attacks against Israelis violates international law, calling for the cessation of the policy.

“I am distressed by reports of punitive demolitions carried out by Israeli security forces of five homes in the Jerusalem, Nablus, and Ramallah governorates in the last few days,” he said.

“Punitive demolitions are a form of collective penalty as they effectively punish not only the alleged perpetrators but also people (relatives, neighbors) for acts they have not individually committed,” stressed the statement.

M.N