Israeli forces destroyed the home of the Zaqout family in southeast Nablus after an eight-hour stand off started Wednesday afternoon. Israeli army bulldozers damaged much of it during a failed arrest attempt. The target was a member of Al Aqsa Brigade in Kafr Kalil who was not at home during the attack.Israeli forces destroyed the home of the Zaqout family in southeast Nablus after an eight-hour stand off started Wednesday afternoon. Israeli army bulldozers damaged much of it during a failed arrest attempt. The target was a member of Al Aqsa Brigade in Kafr Kalil who was not at home during the attack.
At least 10 military vehicles came from Huwara military checkpoint on Wednesday and besieged the three story house. Bulldozers pounded the walls while soldiers opened fire. Two residents were hit, including a 16 year old. Both are hospitalized.
A half hour after they withdrew, neighbors flocked to survey the devastation left by the Israeli military in its attempt to arrest the homeowner’s 22 year old son, Abdel Khader Zaqout. The house no longer has walls. The apartments sit exposed. One of the neighbors pointed and said, “Look, the house is not fit for habitation. The appliances are ruined and everything has been shot at, including the furniture.”
Twelve people lived in the house until last night. The Israeli shelling destroyed the electricity in the area, which the Nablus Municipality began repairing immediately, and also brought in heavy equipment to begin removing the rubble.
The streets are filled with stones that neighborhood youth threw at the bulldozers during the attack, in a failed attempt to save the house. A cousin said that Israeli soldiers climbed on to the roof of the house and fired at the water tanks before detonating explosives in its rooms from top to bottom.
