28 Nov 2019; MEMO: Israeli occupation forces destroyed four family homes in Beit Kahil this morning, a Palestinian village in the southern West Bank, reported Wafa.
The homes were targeted for punitive demolition, a practice illegal under international law.
According to the Wafa report, the homes belong to the families of Ahmad Aref Asafreh and his brother Qassem, Naseer Saleh Asafreh and Yousef Said Zhour, who are currently in Israeli detention on charges of alleged involvement in the killing of an Israeli settler in August.
During the demolitions, Anadolu Agency reported, local residents confronted Israeli soldiers protecting the bulldozers, with Israeli forces deploying tear gas and opening fire.
The jailed Palestinians are accused by Israeli occupation authorities of being involved in the killing of a soldier-settler stabbed outside Migdal Oz colony near Bethlehem on 8 August this year.
The punitive demolitions were carried out even though the accused men have not yet been tried. Palestinians are tried in military courts, while Israeli settlers are subject to civilian law.
Families of the prisoners appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court to prevent the punitive demolitions, but the court rejected their petition.
Israeli authorities routinely carry out the punitive demolition of Palestinian family homes, a practice decried by human rights groups and international officials.
