The Israeli Supreme Court today gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for the military to demolish the family homes of five Palestinian detainees allegedly involved in the killing of a settler in late August 2019.
All five are from the Ramallah area, and are serving long terms in Israeli prison camps. Israeli authorities decided that their families must also be punished, and that the homes of their parents, wives and children should be destroyed.
Israeli media reported that the Israeli court unanimously approved the demolition despite multiple petitions filed by the prisoners’ families against the demolition, the Palestinian News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported.
The court explained its approval by the need to “establish credible deterrence against attacks.”
Collective punishment is a violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.