JERUSALEM: Israeli authorities have demolished three homes and sealed off a fourth of Palestinians who carried out attacks that killed a soldier and a policewoman, the army said on Thursday.

Israel regularly carries out such demolitions, which it says act as a deterrent, but human rights groups and Palestinians say they punish families for the actions of relatives.

Two houses were demolished in Deir Abu Mashaal, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, and a third was sealed off, an army spokeswoman said.

Village mayor Emad Zahran said Israeli soldiers entered the area around 2am with bulldozers.

On June 16, three villagers carried out an attack outside Jerusalem’s Old City that killed a policewoman.

According to police, two of the assailants opened fire at a group of officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman a short distance away before being shot. All three attackers were killed.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2017