Israel demolishes home of Palestinian tram stop attacker

A relative of Abdel-Rahman Shaloudi walks on rubble in his destroyed home

A relative of Abdel-Rahman Shaloudi walks on rubble in his destroyed home in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan. Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters

Israel demolishes home of Palestinian tram stop attacker

Demolition of home of man shot dead after killing two people, including baby, follows separate attack on Jerusalem synagogue

Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem

The Guardian, Wednesday 19 November 2014 11.46 GMT

Israel security forces have destroyed the home of a Palestinian who last month ran over and killed two people at a Jerusalem tram stop, a day after two Palestinians killed four rabbis and a policeman in a frenzied assault at a synagogue in the city.

 “The home of the terrorist, who killed an Israeli baby and a young woman on 22 October in a tram station in Jerusalem, was destroyed in Silwan,” an army statement said.

The home demolition came after two Palestinians ran amok among worshippers in a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday in the city’s bloodiest attack in years.

Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, said there would be a harsh response to the attack and pledged to speed up the demolitions of the homes in line with a policy announced this month.

 “This evening, I ordered the destruction of the homes of the Palestinians who carried out this massacre and to speed up the demolitions of those who carried out previous attacks,” he said on Tuesday.

The policy of home demolitions, which was practised by Israel for decades, was halted in 2005 amid claims it was ineffective and counterproductive.

Demolitions, however, began again in August when the homes of several men involved in the kidnap and murder of three Israeli teenagers were destroyed.

The home of Abdel-Rahman Shaloudi, 21, was blown up before dawn on Wednesday, police and the military said.

The East Jerusalem resident was shot dead by police in October as he tried to flee after mowing down commuters at a light railway stop.

Pope Francis has condemned what he called the “unacceptable” attack on the synagogue, telling his weekly general audience that he was greatly concerned by the increasing tension and urging both sides to end the “spiral of hatred and violence and take courageous decisions for reconciliation and peace”.

Two Palestinian cousins wielding meat cleavers, knives and a handgun attacked the Kehilat Bnai Bnei Torah synagogue, killing four members of the congregation and a policeman. Israeli security forces killed both assailants in a subsequent shootout.

Jewish worshippers returned on Wednesday morning to the scene to seek comfort in prayer. One, Gavriel Cohen, said the attack showed “that our future in this world is dependent on God”.