Israel seals Palestinian shooter’s childhood home as Netanyahu cracks down

Israel has sealed off the family home of 21-year-old Khayri Alqam, a Palestinian who killed seven people in East Jerusalem on Friday. Authorities are expected to demolish the building later.

The move comes after Benjamin Netanyahu’s government announced measures to revoke some of the rights of relatives of Palestinians who carry out attacks against Israelis.

Israel claims the demolition of Palestinians’ family homes has a deterrent effect, but critics denounce it as collective punishment, leaving families homeless.

Dani Shenhar, a member of the human rights organization HaMoked, said the sealing of homes demonstrates the government’s “desire for revenge against families”.

He argued that the measure was taken “in utter disregard for the rule of law”. And that HaMoked will protest the move to the country’s attorney general.

Israeli authorities also plan to seal off the family home of a 13-year-old who opened fire in East Jerusalem on Saturday, wounding an Israeli man and his son.

Other measures taken by the government include withdrawing social security rights from “families of terrorists who support terrorism”, strengthening settlements in the occupied West Bank and sending additional troops to the West Bank.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said his cabinet is also considering revoking the Israeli identity cards of relatives of the attackers. And he announced plans to make it easier for Israelis to carry guns, arguing that the move would reduce violence. “We have seen time and time again… heroic, armed and trained civilians save lives,” he said.

The controversial moves come as fears grow that the deadliest period of years of unrest in Jerusalem and the West Bank could escalate. Since the beginning of the year, 34 Palestinians, 6 Israeli civilians and a Ukrainian woman have been killed.

The shootings on Friday and Saturday followed a deadly Israeli raid on the West Bank that left nine Palestinians dead on Thursday.

Security agents killed an 18-year-old Palestinian, Ali Ahmad Salmane, near the Israeli settlement of Kedumim in the West Bank on Sunday morning, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The Israeli army claimed he was armed.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Jerusalem and Ramallah later this week to discuss de-escalation measures.