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.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.