JERUSALEM: The Zionist entity prepared to demolish the family home Sunday of a Palestinian in east Jerusalem who killed seven people near a synagogue, as part of measures to revoke certain rights of the relatives of Palestinians who attack Zionists. The security cabinet announced a slew of steps late Saturday, including revoking the rights to social security of "the families of terrorists that support terrorism".
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet also announced that the home of 21-year-old Khayri Alqam, who was shot dead by police following Friday's attack, "will be sealed immediately ahead of its demolition". An AFP correspondent saw Zionist forces Sunday on the terrace of the building after they sealed its entrances, with Palestinians clearing out their belongings.
The Zionist entity already routinely demolishes the homes of Palestinians who kill Zionists, although the process necessitates that prior notice be given to families and the chance to appeal the decision. Dani Shenhar, a legal expert at rights group HaMoked, said sealing the home overnight demonstrated the government's "will of revenge against the families". The measure was "done in complete disregard for the rule of law", he said, and HaMoked intends to protest to the attorney general.
More guns for civilians
The Zionist security cabinet said there will also be a discussion Sunday over a bill to revoke identity cards from the relatives of Palestinians who attack Zionists. The measures announced are in line with proposals from Netanyahu's extreme-right political partners which enabled him to return to power at the end of December. They are likely to apply primarily to Arab citizens of the Zionist entity, and Palestinians with east Jerusalem residency permits.
Hours after the deadly shooting outside the synagogue in the settlement of Neve Yaacov, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy shot and wounded two Zionists just outside the walled Old City of east Jerusalem. The boy blamed for the attack in the Silwan neighborhood was shot and wounded at the scene and detained.
No group has claimed responsibility for either of the shootings. Another Palestinian hurt in prior clashes with Zionist forces in Silwan died from his wounds Friday, a Shaare Zedek hospital spokeswoman told AFP. The mounting toll was described as a "death spiral" by Pope Francis, who referred to both Palestinians and Zionists killed. "The death spiral that increases day by day only closes the few glimmers of trust that exist between the two peoples," the pontiff said Sunday.
The security cabinet also decided to make it easier to obtain permits to carry firearms. "When civilians have guns, they can defend themselves," extreme-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir told reporters outside a Jerusalem hospital on Saturday. Zionist forces have been placed on high alert, and the army has announced that it will be reinforcing troop numbers in the West Bank, while calls for restraint have multiplied from abroad.
Meanwhile, Zionist guards killed a Palestinian near a settlement in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Sunday. Karam Ali Ahmad Salman, 18, was shot dead by "the (Zionist) occupation near the settlement of 'Kedumim'," the Palestinian health ministry reported. The Palestinian health ministry said Kedumim was built on privately-owned Palestinian land.
Deadly raid
The Jerusalem attacks came after nine Palestinians were killed in the deadliest raid by Zionist forces in the West Bank in nearly two decades. The Zionist entity said Thursday the raid targeted Islamic Jihad operatives, whose militants along with Hamas later fired several rockets from Gaza towards the entity.
Most of them were intercepted by Zionist defense systems, before the military responded with strikes on Hamas targets inside the Palestinian enclave. There were no casualties reported on either side, but Gaza's armed groups vowed further action. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected in Jerusalem and Ramallah on Monday and Tuesday to discuss steps for de-escalation. The surge in violence has sparked fears of further reprisals.
Friday's attack near a synagogue sparked outrage in Europe and the United States and condemnation from several Arab governments that have ties with the Zionist entity - including Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. But the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas instead insisted that the entity was "fully responsible for the dangerous escalation".
Abbas and Netanyahu are due to meet separately with Blinken next week, talks that have taken on renewed urgency amid the widening bloodshed. It will be Netanyahu's first high-level US meeting since returning to office as the head of the most right-wing government in the Zionist entity's history. Netanyahu's domestic critics continued their protests on Saturday, with thousands turning out in Tel Aviv to oppose his controversial judicial reform plan that aims to give politicians more control over the supreme court. Demonstrators observed a minute of silence for those killed on Friday. - AFP