IDF seals West Bank home of Palestinian involved in deadly Friday shooting

IDF troops sealed the home of a Palestinian who was involved in the deadly shooting in the West Bank village of Tell on Friday, the military says.

Soldiers over the weekend mapped out the home of the Palestinian who opened fire with a gun snatched from an Israeli security officer, killing civil defense squad member Master Sergeant (res.) Benayahu Mellet, 32, and IDF officer Maj. Yuval Ezra, 27, before being shot dead.

Overnight, the home was sealed ahead of its planned demolition, the army says.

As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks.

Sealing the homes of attackers is often a replacement or stopgap for demolishing them. In general, the demolition process takes several months, as the High Court must address appeals by the family, and security forces often wait an optimal time to enter Palestinian cities or neighborhoods for the operation.

The IDF says the temporary sealing of the home was approved by Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, and that the military “intends to continue to advance the process of demolishing the house.”

Also over the weekend, the military measured the home of a Palestinian who snatched the gun to begin with, who was shot and wounded in the incident and later captured by IDF commandos in a hospital in Nablus.