Israel Defense Forces Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth has signed orders confiscating the homes of two Palestinian terrorists in Samaria ahead of their demolition, the military announced Wednesday.
Jamal Abu Haniya, working with additional terrorists, murdered Israeli civilian Amnon Muchtar, 66, after he entered the Palestinian city of Qalqilya in western Samaria to buy vegetables on June 22.
Abu Haniya was among nine Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists killed in an Israeli Air Force strike during a counter-terrorism operation in the Tulkarem area of Samaria on Aug. 4.
Ail Deif Allah, from the village of Rafat, carried out a vehicular assault near the Jewish community of Beit El in Samaria on Sept. 11, killing IDF Staff Sgt. Geri Gideon Hanghal, 24.
Deif Allah, who was neutralized at the scene, was evacuated to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem in serious condition but survived. The terrorist is facing charges of intentionally causing death, possession of a knife and property damage.
The order to demolish Deif Allah’s home was signed by Bluth after an Israeli court rejected an objection filed against the move, the IDF said.
The demolition of Palestinian terrorists’ homes has been a subject of controversy for years. Israel’s security establishment believes that the policy bolsters deterrence and prevents further terrorist activity.
In 2023, demolitions all but stopped, according to an Israel Hayom investigation carried out with Zionist NGO Im Tirtzu. However, in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, the army has picked up the pace, issuing orders for a significant number of terrorists’ homes.
