Israeli army demolishes West Bank houses

The Israeli army destroyed two houses belonging to suspected Palestinian militants in the northern West Bank, military sources…

The Israeli army destroyed two houses belonging to suspected Palestinian militants in the northern West Bank, military sources said.

The army dynamited a house in the village of Kfar Rais, south of Jenin, which belonged to an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber who killed 17 people in northern Israel two months ago, the sources said.

The other house was destroyed in Anabta near Tulkarem. It belonged to a Palestinian militant who injured two Israeli policemen in the Israeli Arab town of Taibeh seven months ago, the sources added.

Since it reoccupied most of the West Bank in June, the army has relentlessly raided towns and villages for suspected militants, also trying to deter them by demolishing their relatives' houses and threatening them with deportation to Gaza.

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The army has destroyed at least 23 houses since the cabinet approved the get-tough deterrent policy, slammed by rights groups as collective punishment.

The Israeli army also slapped a new form of punishment on drivers violating the curfew imposed on the West Bank city of Nablus, by confiscating their vehicles.

Palestinians breaking the transport ban are forced to leave their vehicle in a car park until the curfew is lifted, Israeli public radio reported.

AFP