HRW denounces Israel for the demolition of homes of relatives of the attackers in the Jerusalem synagogue

2 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has denounced Israel this Thursday after it has demolished the houses of the relatives of those suspected of committing an attack on the Neve Yaakov synagogue last Friday, assuring that it is a punishment equivalent to a crime of war.

According to the organization’s statement, the Israeli authorities have demolished the homes of relatives of two suspected of attacks against Israelis in the synagogue located in East Jerusalem, stating that “they are reprehensible crimes.”

“Just as no grievance can justify the intentional targeting of civilians in Neve Yaakov, such attacks cannot justify the Israeli authorities intentionally punishing the families of Palestinian suspects by demolishing their homes and throwing them out on the streets,” the director for Israel said. and Palestine from HRW, Omar Shakir.

One of the suspected Palestinian assailants, Khayri Alqam, opened fire in the Israeli settlement of Neve Yaakov, killing seven civilians, including a child, and wounding three others, before being fatally shot by Israeli security forces.

Likewise, a 13-year-old Palestinian youth was identified as the perpetrator of another shooting attack that left two seriously injured, also in the same area.

The attacks came a day after Israeli forces killed 10 Palestinians, including two minors and a 61-year-old woman, wounding at least 20, during a raid on the Jenin refugee camp. Throughout the month of January, Israeli forces have killed 35 Palestinians, including 8 minors, according to the West Bank Ministry of Health.

The January 26 raid on the Jenin refugee camp was the only incident that month with a large number of deaths. At the time, the Israeli authorities said their forces entered Jenin to arrest members of armed Palestinian groups they claimed had carried out attacks against Israelis.

However, HRW has ensured that deliberate attacks against civilians are reprehensible crimes and that collective punishment such as home demolitions or extensive movement restrictions are among the policies on which the Israeli authorities have relied to “systematically oppress the Palestinians.” .

“Human Rights Watch has found that the Israeli authorities’ systematic oppression, together with the inhumane acts they have committed against Palestinians as part of a policy to maintain the dominance of Israeli Jews over Palestinians, constitute crimes against humanity of apartheid. and persecution”, the organization concluded in its letter.