(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) The Biden administration is criticizing Israel for its recent demolition of a suspected Palestinian terrorist’s home and is pushing for Israel to end the practice.
On July 8, an Israeli military court indicted Muntasir Shalabi, a United States citizen, for allegedly killing Israeli student Yehuda Guetta, 19, in a May 2 drive-by shooting at the Tapuach Junction; two others were injured in the attack. The junction is located just south of Nablus, a city in the northern region of the West Bank.
Following the indictment, the Israeli military demolished Shalabi’s home in Turmus Aiya, a West Bank town north of Ramallah. A spokesperson from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem said in a statement, “We are following reports that the home was demolished. We believe it is critical for all parties to refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions and undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution.”
Ned Price, a spokesperson for the State Department, later said in a statement “that the home of an entire family shouldn’t be demolished for the action of one individual” and that “punitive demolitions exacerbate tensions at a time when everyone should be focused on principally ensuring calm.” He added that the Biden administration will be urging the Israeli government to end the practice altogether.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office told The Jerusalem Post in response, “The Prime Minister appreciates and respects the US. At the same time, [the Prime Minister] acts solely in accordance with security considerations of the State of Israel and the need for protection of the lives of Israeli citizens.”
According to the Times of Israel, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid was not made aware of the demolition.
Some pro-Israel Twitter users criticized the Biden administration’s critique of Israel’s policy of demolishing the homes of Palestinian terrorists.
“Shooting a Yeshiva student to death is an obstacle to peace,” the Simon Wiesenthal Center tweeted. “Demolishing the house of the murdering #terrorist isn’t an obstacle to peace – it is a measure of justice and warning to others enticed by pay-to-slay Jews [Palestinian Authority] policy.”
Shooting a Yeshiva student to death is an obstacle to peace. Demolishing the house of the murdering #terrorist isn’t an obstacle to peace – it is a measure of justice and warning to others enticed by pay-to-slay Jews PA policy. https://t.co/WOhwBry1sm
— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) July 8, 2021
Writer Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll tweeted, “The practice is based on the assessment that it deters more terror. In this light, it [should] be seen as collective safety AND a way to avoid the worse consequences brought by additional terror- for Palestinians just as much as Israelis.”
She added in a subsequent tweet: “You can argue with the premise, tho you’ve unlikely done the research or seen the intel, but framing it as solely punishment & not deterrent is wrong. I do find it highly ironic given that the entire antizionist/BDS platform is one big collective punishment against Israel & Jews.”
On destroying the homes of terrorists: The practice is based on the assessment that it deters more terror. In this light, it shld be seen as collective safety AND a way to avoid the worse consequences brought by additional terror- for Palestinians just as much as Israelis.
— Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll (@skjask) July 8, 2021
You can argue with the premise, tho you've unlikely done the research or seen the intel, but framing it as solely punishment & not deterrent is wrong.
I do find it highly ironic given that the entire antizionist/BDS platform is one big collective punishment against Israel & Jews— Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll (@skjask) July 8, 2021
International human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky tweeted, “With all due respect to our American friends, we do not lecture you how to combat terror (we actually support you unwaveringly), so please don’t lecture us.”
With all due respect to our American friends, we do not lecture you how to combat terror (we actually support you unwaveringly), so please don’t lecture us.https://t.co/YyI9tCFnMW
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 9, 2021
According to the Post and World Israel News, Shalabi’s wife, Sanaa, and the Israeli leftist NGO HaMoked had argued against the demolishing the house because Shalabi had been estranged from his wife and spent most of his time in the U.S. and that Shalabi suffered from suicidal thoughts. However, “an Israeli government investigation found that the house was registered in [Shalabi’s] name, had originally belonged to his parents, and that he had spent up to two months every few years in the residence,” according to World Israel News.
Sanaa hailed her husband as a “resister” and said that Israel wants “to demoralize us, but we are steadfast. This is the situation of the entire Palestinian people.”
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