Remains of al-Abed home in Kobar following the Israeli army‘s destruction of the residence as a punishment to the family for its son‘s action. (WAFA photo/Baha Nasr) 

RAMALLAH, August 16, 2017 (WAFA) – Israeli forces demolished on Wednesday morning the family home of Omar al-Abed, a 19-year-old from the Ramallah area village of Kobar who stabbed and killed three Israeli settlers in the illegal settlement of Halamish, north of Ramallah, on July 21. Al-Abed was shot and arrested.

Israeli army broke into Kobar and proceeded to demolish al-Abed’s family home in a step seen as collective punishment against the family.

Clashes erupted in the village during the demolition. The Israeli forces used rubber-coated steel bullets against the protesters, injuring about 12 of them, including cameraman for Palestine TV Mohammad Radi who was shot in the face by a rubber bullet from a close distance. Some 13 others were treated for inhaling teargas fired by the forces, according to the Red Crescent.

The Israeli army detained al-Abed’s parents, two of his brothers and his uncle and charged them with knowing about al-Abed’s intentions but did nothing to stop him.

The family had evacuated its two-story home following the attack in Halamish in anticipation of the demolition.

This policy of home demolition was widely condemned by human rights organizations as “collective punishment” and “a war crime and a crime against humanity”.

B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, says: “The people who bear the brunt of the [punitive] demolitions are relatives – including women, the elderly, and children – whom Israel does not suspect of involvement in any offense.”

“In the vast majority of cases, the person whose actions prompted the demolition was not even living in the house at the time of the demolition,” adds the group.

“The official objective of the house demolition policy is deterrence … yet the deterrent effect of house demolitions has never been proven.”

M.N./M.K.