“Arise, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.” (Psalm 7:6)
The homes of two Palestinian terrorists were demolished by Israel, the IDF confirmed Tuesday morning, following a government crackdown on the
latest wave of terrorism to hit the nation.
The homes belonged to terrorists who carried out attacks against Israel over the last year, with a room in the home of a third terrorist sealed off for possible demolition. The three terrorists were killed during or after they carried out their attacks, which left six people dead.
“Overnight, and in accordance with the directive of the Minister of Defense, Moshe Ya’alon, security personnel demolished the residences of Abu Jamil Ghassan Ben Muhammad and Muhammed Naif El-Jaabis and sealed off a room in the residence of Mu’taz Ibrahim Halil Hijazi in Jerusalem,” the IDF said in a statement.
On August 4 of last year, Jaabis, 23, plowed through an Israeli bus using a bulldozer during Operation Protective Edge. One Israeli was killed and five injured. Jaabis was shot dead by police at the scene.
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November 17 of last year, Ghassan, along with his brother, entered a synagogue in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem with a gun and meat cleavers. Four rabbis were killed during morning prayer services as well as a Druze policeman responding to the scene of the attack. Both terrorists were killed at the scene of the attack.
Hijazi, 32, was responsible for the
assassination attempt on Temple Mount activist
Rabbi Yehudah Glick on October 29 of last year. Glick was critically wounded in the attack. Hijazi was shot dead the next morning during a security raid.
The families of the terrorists were notified of the impending demolitions last year. It remains unclear whether they attempted to appeal the orders with the Israeli Supreme Court.
The demolitions come amid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to harshen measures against terrorists. On Monday, Netanyahu tasked Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked with expediting measures to shorten the legal process to demolish homes of Palestinian terrorists, a controversial policy that was first introduced during the Second Intifada.
“We are not prepared to give immunity to anybody, not to any rioters…or any terrorist, anywhere, and therefore there are no limits on the activities of the security forces,” he stated.
In addition to reenacting the policy of home demolitions, the prime minister has ordered the deployment of thousands of extra police and soldiers into Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria to restore security. He also ordered a more expansive use of administrative detentions for terror suspects and banning people who incite terrorism against Israel from the Old City of Jerusalem.