HEBRON, November 16, 2017 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Thursday sealed shut the home of Khaled Shehadeh Makhamreh – a prisoner held in Israeli jails for the deadly attack in Tel Aviv in June 2016 that killed four Israelis – after raiding his Yatta hometown to the south of Hebron in the West Bank, according to local sources.

The Israeli army raided the town and proceeded to solder the doors and windows of the Makhamreh home as a punishment for the attack.

Makhamreh is in prison for the Tel Aviv attack. His family house was demolished six months ago as a punishment and made useless forcing his family to move to a new home, which was also soldered shut as further punishment to his family displacing them once again.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fast-tracked punitive home demolitions in an effort to “deter” attacks carried out by Palestinian individuals since an increase in tension erupted across the occupied Palestinian territory in late 2015.

The demolitions were carried out despite past recommendations by an Israeli military committee that the practice did not deter attacks. However, Israeli rights group B’Tselem has pointed out that even if the policy was proven to deter Palestinian attacks on Israelis, the policy would remain “unlawful,” as it “constitutes deliberate harm to innocents.”

On Wednesday, Israeli forces blew up the family home of Nimer al-Jamal in the village of Beit Surik, to the northwest of Jerusalem. Al-Jamal was killed by Israeli forces in September after he carried out a deadly shooting attack outside the illegal settlement of Har Adar, located near the village, which left three Israelis officers dead.

M.N./M.K.