Israel launches offensive against rights of relatives of those involved in attacks

The Israeli government has announced measures against relatives of people involved in two attacks in Jerusalem, one of which left seven people dead in a synagogue. In a controversial decision, the government of Binyamin Netanyahu informed that it is considering the possibility of depriving them of Social Security and having their identity documents confiscated.

Security forces isolated this Sunday (29) a house that belongs to the relatives of Alkam Khairi, 21, a gunman who was killed after committing the attack on the synagogue. Residents had to leave in a hurry. According to the government, the residence will be demolished.

It is the first retaliatory action taken by Netanyahu, who leads the most right-wing coalition the country has ever seen, against what he called “the relatives of terrorists”. On Saturday, the prime minister promised a “strong, quick and precise” response to the attacks committed in recent days by Palestinians in East Jerusalem.

The shooter’s mother remains detained at a police station. In total, 42 people suspected of involvement in the attack were taken away for questioning, according to Israeli police.

The attack on the synagogue took place on Friday (27), shortly after worshipers attended a religious service for the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Seven people were killed and three were injured after the man fired indiscriminately. He was killed after a brief police chase.

The Israeli government is also considering retaliating against the family of a 13-year-old Palestinian boy who shot two people this Saturday (28) in the Old City of Jerusalem. The young man was arrested, and the victims, who are father and son, are still hospitalized. A house belonging to the young man’s relatives was isolated, but it is not yet known whether the residence will be demolished.

The demolition of properties belonging to the relatives of Palestinians who killed Israelis is not a new practice in Israel. The Israeli government claims that the measure has a deterrent effect, but critics dispute the argument saying that it is an unnecessary collective punishment.

The legal director of the Israeli human rights NGO HaMoked, Dani Shenhar, said that the demolitions do not respect the rule of law and only demonstrate the Israeli government’s desire for revenge.

Three of those killed in Friday’s attack on the synagogue were buried on Saturday night (28). It is Asher Natan, a 14-year-old teenager, and the couple Eli and Natalie Mizrahi, who tried to help the first victims of the attack.

The Israeli government activated the highest national alert level and reinforced the presence of security agents in Israel and the West Bank following the sequence of attacks. Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said a team from the elite Yamam counterterrorism unit had been sent to Jerusalem.

The attacks came at a time of rising tensions in Israel. The death of at least ten Palestinians last Thursday (26) in actions by the Israeli Army, led by the most right-wing political coalition the country has ever seen, exacerbated the crisis with Palestine.

Hours after the action, in the early hours of Friday, the country reported rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and responded with a series of air strikes. The Islamic Jihad group said the offensive carried a message that “the enemy must remain alert because spilled Palestinian blood is costly”.

On Sunday morning, Israeli guards killed another Palestinian near a settlement in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The Israeli army said the man was armed — the information could not be independently verified.

A Palestinian home and vehicle were set on fire in the West Bank village of Turmus Ayya, in an attack attributed by local residents to Israeli settlers in revenge for recent episodes. According to the official Palestinian agency Wafa, Israelis also threw stones at 120 vehicles and there were attacks against 22 stores in Nablus, in the north of the occupied West Bank.

The episodes of violence were recorded hours after the Israeli Minister of National Security, the extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would seek to increase the number of gun licenses in the country. “I want guns in the streets. I want citizens to be able to protect themselves.”

The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, arrived this Sunday (29) in Egypt, the first stop on the trip that will have the Middle East as its final destination. The American should visit Israel and the West Bank in the next few days with the aim of “reducing tensions” in the region.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in turn, called for “maximum responsibility” on Israelis and Palestinians. Pope Francis, on the other hand, criticized the increase in violence and recommended that the two parties to the conflict in the West Bank start a “sincere search for peace”.