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Should Israel Destroy 'Terrorist's' House?
The home of the man responsible for bulldozer attack may be destroyed.
July 9, 2008 -- Angry Israeli right-wing protesters held signs reading "Destroy the house" in a demonstration this week outside the home of East Jerusalem Palestinian Hossam Dwayyat, who was shot dead after a deadly bulldozer rampage through a busy Jerusalem street last week.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak reportedly gave orders to the Israeli army to prepare to raze Dwayyat's house. However, final decisions won't be made until the end of the week, according to a Defense Ministry spokesman.
This case has sparked a hot debate in Israel over the morality and legality of house demolition, intended to both punish and deter further acts of violence. This once common policy was discontinued in 2005, when an Israeli military committee determined house demolitions were ineffective, and they were considered a public relations disaster by many.
Sarit Michaeli, spokesperson for B'Tselem, the Israeli information center for human rights in the occupied territories, opposes the demolition but can understand why some people favor them.
"In a way, it seems like a great idea," Michaeli told ABC News. "It would do something that satisfies a deep desire among many Israelis for revenge, to get over the anger, frustration and sorrow that many of us are feeling over this attack."
In this particular case, Hossam Dwayyat is not a typical "terrorist" figure. He operated alone in the bulldozer attack, without the support of any organization.
In a meeting held Monday by the Israeli Parliament's Internal Affairs Committee, a community leader from Dwayyat's village said that the attack was not nationalistic.
"It resulted from a malfunction in the head," Hassan Abu Asli said at the meeting. "This is a man that dealt with drugs, women and petty theft. He is not a man that would perpetrate ideological murder."
Yaron London, a widely respected anchor for Israeli news network Channel 10, said that the demolition doesn't punish Dwayyat, who is already dead. The impact of the demolition would rest on his family, and on the two other families whose houses are attached to his.
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