Israel destroys home of Palestinian charged with murder

Palestinian boys inspect the house of Mohammed Abu Al-Rub after it was demolished by the Israeli Army, in the West Bank village of Qabatiya near the city of Jenin, on Friday. (AP)

NABLUS/JERUSALEM: The Israeli Army destroyed early Friday the West Bank home of a Palestinian man charged with murdering his Israeli employer, Palestinian security officials said.
As a bulldozer was used to raze the home of Mohammed Abu Al-Rub in the town of Qabatiya, clashes broke out between soldiers and residents in which one Palestinian was wounded, the sources said.
Al-Rub and another Palestinian man were charged on Oct. 29 with the Oct. 4 murder of their Israeli employer Reuven Schmerling at their workplace in Kafr Qassem in central Israel.
Schmerling, 70, who lived in the Israeli settlement of Elkana in the West Bank, was stabbed and beaten to death by the two in his coal warehouse, prosecutors say.
Israeli authorities described his murder as a “terrorist” attack.
Israel routinely destroys the homes of Palestinians it accuses of carrying out attacks, arguing the tactic acts as a deterrent.
Critics say it amounts to collective punishment.
Since a wave of violence began in October 2015, at least 309 Palestinians or Arab Israelis, 52 Israelis and seven foreigners have been killed in a series of attacks, according to an AFP count.
Israeli authorities say most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks. Violence has subsided greatly in recent months.

Manhunt for ‘killers’
Meanwhile, hundreds of police were combing southern Israel on Friday for those behind the fatal stabbing of a 19-year-old soldier which they are treating as a “terrorist” attack.
Ron Kukia was found dying near a bus stop in the city of Arad late on Thursday. His attackers had fled the scene.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said hundreds of officers were “continuing to search for the suspects that carried out yesterday evening’s attack.”
President Reuvin Rivlin offered condolences to the soldier’s family and vowed to find his killers.
“Terror will not be allowed to raise its head, and we will fight it unwaveringly, with force and determination,” he said.
The Israeli authorities did not specify on what basis they were treating the killing as a “terrorist” attack. Soldiers or police have often been the targets.