WEST BANK (Dispatches) –
Zionist occupation forces this morning demolished the home of Palestinian martyr Moataz Khawaja, located in the town of Ni’lin, in the Ramallah district of the occupied West Bank.
The occupation forces stormed the town of Ni’lin, west of Ramallah, and surrounded Khawaja’s home in preparation for its demolition.
They fired tear gas at the homes of Palestinians in the neighborhood and positioned snipers on the roofs of several buildings in the town.
The occupation troops forced the residents of the houses near Khawaja’s house to leave.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society announced that its staff provided first aid treatment to four people who were wounded by the occupation’s bullets in the town.
Khawaja, 23, was a member of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian group which rules Gaza.
His home village lies close to the Green Line which the occupied territories from the West Bank, and barely 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Tel Aviv.
Nilin mayor Yusef Khawaja said Israeli troops made all residents of the four-storey apartment block leave their homes before demolishing the shooter’s first floor flat at dawn.
The army released video of troops setting explosive charges before blowing up the apartment.
Large portraits of Khawaja had been draped over the side of the building, commemorating him as a martyr, an AFP photographer reported.
Troops clashed with Palestinians during the operation, the army said. The mayor said three people were injured.
The occupying regime, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967, routinely demolishes the homes of individuals it blames for deadly attacks on Zionists.
Human rights activists say the policy amounts to collective punishment, as it can render non-combatants, including children, homeless.
Khawaja’s father Salah was defiant after the Zionist aggression. “This hateful act will only strengthen our love for the homeland... Al-Quds and the faith (Islam), and, with God’s help, our roots will remain anchored here,” he told AFP.