By Steven Scheer
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel ordered on Tuesday the demolition of homes in the West Bank hometowns of two Palestinian gunmen who attacked a bus stop in Jerusalem, and will revoke the work permits of hundreds of their fellow villagers and relatives.
The gunmen, from the towns of Qatanna and Qubeiba north of Jerusalem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, opened fire at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Monday, killing six people.
In a statement, Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered sanctions to be imposed on the attackers’ family members and residents of the two villages.
Every structure that had been built without permits in the two towns would be demolished, and 750 people would have their permission revoked to work in Israel, the main source of income for many Palestinian families.
Israel says demolishing the homes of relatives of attackers and their fellow villagers is a deterrent to future attacks. Palestinians and human rights groups consider the practice a form of collective punishment, prohibited by international law.
The two gunmen were both killed at the scene of Monday’s attack. Police said they had arrested a resident of East Jerusalem on suspicion of “assisting the terrorists in reaching the scene” and were continuing to search for all those involved in the attack.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said that in the wake of the attack he was expanding a list of communities where Israelis are eligible to receive licences to carry guns.
“In the horrific attack, it was again proven that firearms save lives, when two armed civilians, who had received weapons under the reform we are leading, neutralised the … terrorists,” he said.
(Reporting by Steven ScheerEditing by Peter Graff)
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