Israel levels West Bank home of Palestinian-American suspect
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli forces on Thursday demolished the family home of a Palestinian-American man accused of being involved in a deadly attack on Israelis in the West Bank in May.
Associated Press video footage showed Israeli army troops leveling the two-story home of Muntasser Shalaby in the village of Turmus Ayya with controlled explosions.
Israel says Shalaby carried out a May 2 drive-by shooting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank that killed Israeli student Yehuda Guetta and wounded two others. He was arrested days after the attack. His wife, Sanaa Shalaby, told the AP they were estranged for several years and that he spent most of his time in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he had married three other women in unofficial Islamic ceremonies. The entire family has U.S. citizenship.
The Israeli Supreme Court upheld the demolition order in a decision last month.
The case drew attention to Israel´s policy of punitive demolitions of the homes of Palestinians who attacked Israelis. Israeli officials say the demolitions deter future attacks, while rights groups view them as a form of collective punishment.
The U.S. State Department has urged a halt to punitive home demolitions.
FILE - In this June 3, 2021 file photo, Sanaa Shalaby, estranged wife of Muntasser Shalaby, who Israeli security forces accuse of carrying out a May 2 shooting that killed an Israeli and wounded two others in the occupied West Bank, walks in her home in the West Bank village of Turmus Ayya. On Wednesday, June 23, 2021, Israel's Supreme Court upheld the decision to destroy the Shalaby family home. It rejected a petition by Sanaa Shalaby, who lives in the home with three of their children and says she knew nothing about the attack. The case drew attention to Israel's policy of demolishing the family homes of attackers after they have been killed or arrested. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File)
Sanaa Shalaby, displays a picture of her estranged husband, Muntasser Shalaby, center, who Israeli security forces accuse of carrying out a May 2 shooting that killed an Israeli and wounded two others in the occupied West Bank, at her home in the West Bank village of Turmus Ayya, Thursday, June 3, 2021. Shalaby is waging a legal battle to prevent Israel from demolishing the two-story villa where she lives with her three youngest children that's drawing attention to Israel's policy of punitive home demolitions, which rights groups view as collective punishment. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Sanaa Shalaby, estranged wife of Muntasser Shalaby, who Israeli security forces accuse of carrying out a May 2 shooting that killed an Israeli and wounded two others in the occupied West Bank, waters plants at her home in the West Bank village of Turmus Ayya, Thursday, June 3, 2021. Shalaby is waging a legal battle to prevent Israel from demolishing the two-story villa where she lives with her three youngest children that's drawing attention to Israel's policy of punitive home demolitions, which rights groups view as collective punishment. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
