Israel forces forcibly seal home of Palestinian for ‘planning attack’

HEBRON, Palestinian Territories — Israeli forces have sealed off the West Bank home of a Palestinian allegedly for helping plan an attack in Tel Aviv that left four Israelis dead, the Israeli army and residents said on Thursday. The army said the home of Younes Zein, 22, in Yatta, south of the flash point city of Hebron, was sealed off overnight. Zein “assisted in the planning and supplied the weapons for the lethal attack at the Sarona market on June 8, 2016,” a spokeswoman said. The attack saw two cousins, Mohammad Makhamrah and Khaled Makhamrah, walk into a popular Tel Aviv cafe wearing black suits and open fire on customers at random. Three people were shot dead, while a fourth died of a heart attack and 15 others were wounded. According to the Shin Bet domestic security agency, Zein was supposed to have taken part in the attack but did not participate, confessing however to providing the other two with weapons. The Makhamrah cousins as well as Zein are facing charges at the Tel Aviv district court of murder, conspiracy to murder and attempted murder. Palestinian witnesses said the army poured concrete into Zein’s single-room block adjacent to the family home. Minor clashes broke out, with the army using tear gas to disperse Palestinians. No casualties were reported. The army had demolished the homes of the Makhamrah cousins in August. The Makhamrahs and Zein had allegedly wanted to carry out “a revenge attack against Israel in the name of Daesh (the so-called IS)” during the holy month of Ramadan, the Shin Bet said. Israel routinely demolishes or seals off the homes of Palestinian assailants in what it says is a means to deter further attacks. Human rights groups and Palestinians say the policy amounts to collective punishment, with family members suffering for the acts of others. Since October 2015, violence has claimed the lives of 238 Palestinians, 36 Israelis, two Americans, a Jordanian, an Eritrean and a Sudanese, according to an AFP count. Most of the Palestinians killed were allegedly carrying out attacks, according to Israeli authorities. Others were shot dead during protests or clashes, while some were killed in air strikes in the Gaza Strip. Most of the attacks were carried out by lone-wolf assailants, many of them young. — AFP