IDF Demolishes Family Home of Teenager Who Stabbed Israeli Soldier in February

Israeli forces demolished the home of a Palestinian family in east Jerusalem Wednesday, after their 13-year-old relative was accused of stabbing an Israeli police officer earlier this year.

The United States Office of Palestinian Affairs condemned the move, which came in reaction to Mohammed Zalabani stabbing the officer at a checkpoint in February.

"An entire family should not lose their home because of the actions of one individual," the U.S. agency posted on X.

When Zalabani stabbed the officer, he was overpowered, but moments later a private Israeli security guard accidentally shot the officer dead. The teen was still charged with murder.

The boy's family, who fought the punishment of losing their home in a case later dismissed by the Israeli Supreme Court, said the home was demolished Wednesday. His father Basel Zalabani claimed he and another son were arrested just beforehand.

“Of course we’ve been on edge, anxious and waiting for this to happen for several months,” 45-year-old Zalabani told the Associated Press. “But when it happens, it’s even harder than you’d expect.”

Zalabani said he was beaten for several hours by officers before being released, while his 18-year-old son remains in custody.

The demolition, sanctioned in August before the Israel-Hamas war began, comes as tensions in the occupied West Bank go full boil over the current conflict.

Israel has a policy of demolishing buildings it associates with terrorists, even if it leads to the displacement of families not associated with any known criminal activity. The IDF says the policy is an anti-terror deterrent.

Earlier this year, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said some 290 Palestinian-owned structures had been seized or demolished in the first three months of this year. Hundreds of people were affected by the policy, it said.