IDF troops raze West Bank home of accused Ofra attack terrorist

Israeli troops on Wednesday razed the home of a Palestinian accused of carrying out a West Bank terror attack in December, the military said.

In a predawn operation, Israeli security forces entered the West Bank town of Kobar, near Ramallah, and demolished the apartment of Salih Barghouti.

Barghouti was killed by Israeli troops during his attempted arrest on December 12.

Seven people were injured in the Ofra attack, including a seven-months-pregnant woman who was seriously wounded and whose baby died several days later, after doctors were forced to deliver it prematurely due to her injuries.

A day after Barghouti was killed, his brother Asem, who had assisted him in the attack, carried out a second shooting attack at a bus stop near the outpost of Givat Assaf.

Two soldiers, Sgt. Yosef Cohen and Staff Sgt. Yovel Mor Yosef, were killed in the Givat Assaf attack.

Another soldier, Israeli-American Netanel Felber, was seriously injured and Shira Sabag, a civilian woman, was also hurt in the shooting.

Asem Barghouti was arrested in January following a nearly month-long manhunt.

His home, also in Kobar, was destroyed by the IDF last month, despite an appeal to the High Court of Justice.

Though controversial, Israeli authorities defend home demolitions as a deterrent against future terror attacks.

Critics say the move amounts to collective punishment and is ineffective.