IDF plans to re-demolish home of deadly West Bank attack gunman after it was rebuilt
In rare occurrence, troops again map home belonging to one of three involved in shooting attack that killed 1, injured 5; prisoners’ groups say 2 Palestinians die in Israeli custody
In a rare move, the military said Friday it is planning to demolish the home of a Palestinian gunman who killed an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint near Jerusalem last year after the home was rebuilt following its first demolition earlier this year.
Israel Defense Forces troops operated in the West Bank city of Hebron to measure the home of Abdelqader Qawasmeh ahead of its demolition.
Qawasmeh was one of three gunmen from the Hamas terror group who attacked the “tunnels” checkpoint on the West Bank’s Route 60, south of Jerusalem in November 2023, killing Cpl. Avraham Fetena, a Military Police soldier.
The IDF said the home was mapped out “ahead of the demolition of the house after it was rebuilt after its previous demolition.”
As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks. Rarely does Israel re-demolish homes that are rebuilt.
Jerusalem defends the practice of razing the family home of attackers as a deterrent against future assaults. Over the years, a number of Israeli defense officials have questioned the efficacy of the practice, and human rights activists have denounced it as unfair collective punishment.
Fetena was killed and five were wounded in a shooting attack by Palestinian terrorists targeting the “tunnels” checkpoint on the West Bank’s Route 60, south of Jerusalem last year.
One of the victims of the attack said all the doors of a white car opened at once, with each gunman shooting in a different direction, and security forces quickly returning fire.
Police said many weapons were found inside the car, including two M16 rifles, two pistols, about 10 loaded magazines, hundreds of additional bullets, and two axes. Also found in the vehicle were uniforms resembling those of the Israeli military.
The attack came just over a month after the October 7 massacre and amid high tensions in the West Bank. Since then, troops have arrested some 5,250 wanted Palestinians, including more than 2,050 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry, more than 716 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 41 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
Prisoners’ groups say 2 Palestinians die in Israeli custody
Meanwhile, Palestinian prisoners’ rights groups announced Friday that two prisoners, including a senior member of Hamas in the West Bank, have died in Israeli custody over the past month.
Samih Aliwi, 61, a resident of Nablus died on November 6 nearly a week after being transferred from Ramle Prison to Shamir Medical Center, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Palestinian Prisoners Society said in a joint statement.
According to the statement, Aliwi was arrested on October 21, 2023, and since then his health has seriously deteriorated due to complications surrounding surgeries on a benign tumor in his intestine.
A scheduled surgery in December was postponed, adding to the issues, the statement read.
???????????? #Hamas:
The martyred leader, the prisoner,
Samih Suleiman Aliwi "Abu Mohammad"Who ascended on Wednesday morning, 6-11-2024, in a cowardly assassination operation inside the occupation prisons.
And it is a jihad of victory or martyrdom. pic.twitter.com/c5txjEkhFY
— The Observer Resist???? (@T_observeresist) November 15, 2024
Hamas announced Aliwi as a senior member of the terror group.
The prisoners’ groups said Aliwi has been in and out of Israeli prisons since 1988. He was notably arrested in 2015 for a money laundering scheme to fund Hamas operations.
The statement also said Anwar Aslim, from Gaza, died on Thursday during his transfer from a prison in southern Israel to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. He had no prior health issues, according to the groups.
It was not immediately clear on what grounds the two were detained.
