Israel Destroys Home of Palestinian Accused in Settler Killing

A Palestinian man inspects the home of Omar Jaradat demolished by Israeli security forces after they accused him of killing a Jewish settler. (AFP)
A Palestinian man inspects the home of Omar Jaradat demolished by Israeli security forces after they accused him of killing a Jewish settler. (AFP)
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Israel Destroys Home of Palestinian Accused in Settler Killing

A Palestinian man inspects the home of Omar Jaradat demolished by Israeli security forces after they accused him of killing a Jewish settler. (AFP)
A Palestinian man inspects the home of Omar Jaradat demolished by Israeli security forces after they accused him of killing a Jewish settler. (AFP)

Israeli forces on Saturday destroyed the home of a Palestinian accused of killing an Israeli settler last year, sparking clashes.

Explosives destroyed the apartment of Omar Jaradat in Silat al-Harithiya village, near the flashpoint town of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, according to a statement by the Israeli army.

It said Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces, throwing stones and firebombs, which soldiers responded to with semi-automatic fire.

Two Palestinians were wounded, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.

The clashes add to tensions in Israel and the West Bank as a large-scale manhunt continued for a pair of Palestinians suspected of killing three Israelis in an axe attack Thursday night near Tel Aviv.

Over the past month police and Palestinians have also clashed at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Israeli-annexed Old City.

Explosives punched a hole in the pink exterior wall of Jaradat's apartment and blew out interior walls, leaving the floors strewn with grey rubble.

Israel accused Jaradat and two of his family members of killing religious student Yehuda Dimentman, 25, on December 16, 2021. Gunmen sprayed a car with bullets as it drove out of the wildcat settlement outpost of Homesh. Two others were wounded in the attack.

Security forces have previously demolished three other homes of Jaradat family members in Silat al-Harithiya.

Those operations in February and March also led to clashes, in which the army shot dead a Palestinian teenager.

Israel regularly destroys the homes of individuals it blames for attacks on Israelis.

The practice has been condemned by critics as a form of collective punishment. Israel insists it deters attacks.

Around 475,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank in communities widely regarded as illegal under international law, alongside around 2.9 million Palestinians,

A string of anti-Israeli attacks since March 22 have killed 18 people, including an Arab-Israeli police officer and two Ukrainians.

Two of the deadly attacks were carried out in the Tel Aviv area by Palestinians.

A total of 27 Palestinians and three Israeli Arabs have died during the same period, among them perpetrators of attacks and those killed by Israeli security forces in West Bank operations.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.