Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the home of a Palestinian teen accused of stabbing a Jewish woman to death in the occupied West Bank would be demolished as a deterrent.
“We are going to destroy the terrorist’s house,” Netanyahu said as he visited the Otniel settlement in the West Bank, where Sunday’s fatal stabbing occurred, according to his office. Israeli forces have arrested a Palestinian teenager for the killing, which led to outrage among Israelis. His uncle said he was 15, while Israeli media reported his age as 16. Israel regularly demolishes the homes of alleged attackers in what it describes as a deterrent. Rights groups say it amounts to collective punishment, with families forced to suffer for the acts of relatives.
He again accused Palestinian leaders of incitement. “The hatred that caused this murder has an address,” he said. “It is the incitement campaign led by the Palestinian Authority and other elements such as the Islamic Movement and Hamas, and it is about time the international community stopped their hypocrisy and called things by their names.”