Israel Demolishes Palestinian Attackers' Homes In East Jerusalem Amid Unrest In West Bank

Israeli forces razed homes of two Palestinians Tuesday in East Jerusalem, who carried out attacks against Israelis last year. The demolitions are expected to continue throughout Tuesday morning, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The move comes after weeks of unrest between the Palestinians and the Israeli troops in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to use a "strong hand" to suppress recent violent Palestinian protests and attacks, according to ABC News. “We are fighting a fight until the end against Palestinian terror,” Netanyahu said in widely televised comments Sunday.

The demolished houses were the homes of Ghassan Abu Jamal and Mohammed Jaabis, the Guardian reported. Abu Jamal, with his relative Uday Abu Jamal, reportedly killed four Jewish priests and a police officer in a gruesome attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem last year, before being shot and killed. According to Al Jazeera, Mohammad Jaabis was shot dead by Israeli forces when he rammed a bulldozer into a bus, killing one Israeli and injuring many others.

The houses were reportedly toppled hours after several right-wing Israelis protested outside Netanyahu’s residence over the handling of the crisis.

According to Bloomberg, Israeli Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy Yisrael Katz told Army Radio that the country may be willing to consider military options to retaliate against increasing violence by Palestinians in Jerusalem’s Old City.

“A new intifada [uprising] has started against the Israeli occupation, and all attempts to stop it will fail,” Mohammed al-Hindi, a senior member of the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, told Bloomberg.