The IDF raided the southern West Bank town of Beit Kahil, near Hebron, in the early hours of Thursday and razed the homes of two Palestinian terrorists implicated in the August murder of a yeshiva student in Samaria.
Eighteen-year-old Dvir Sorek was found stabbed to death near his hometown of Migdal Oz in Samaria. Sorek had gone to Jerusalem to buy books for his teacher as an end-of-year present and was returning home when he was targeted by Palestinian terrorists. His body was found by the side of the road, still clutching the books he had purchased, by popular Israel novelist and outspoken left-wing activist David Grossman.
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Cousins Nasir Asafra, 24, and Qassem Asafra, 30, were arrested shortly after the attack and charged with Sorek's murder. Three others were also indicted on terror charges in connection with the attack.
The military said local residents clashed with the troops at the scene.
Israel maintains that the practice of razing terrorists' homes is an effective means of discouraging future attacks, though it has been criticized by human rights groups as a form of collective punishment and by some analysts as an ineffective deterrent measure.
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement that those who carry out terror attacks will be punished.
"Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that there will be no more terror, but we must exact a heavy price from anyone who raises a hand against an Israeli citizen," he said.
Speaking to Channel 13 News, Sorek's father, Yoav, criticized the fact that the homes were not razed sooner.
"When it could have strengthened deterrence and maybe stopped the next attack. The inflated caution and rights to delay via the courts ignore the fact that homes are not lives, you can rebuild them," he said.
Fatah responded by announcing a general strike, including educational institutions, in Beit Kahil, "In solidarity with the fighters whose homes were destroyed by the occupation," Walla News reported.
A Hamas spokesperson said that the razing of the homes was part of "ongoing racist terrorist behavior and ongoing aggression against our people."
