.bmp)
.bmp)
JERUSALEM-Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak issued orders on Wednesday for the demolition of the home of a Palestinian gunman who killed eight Jewish seminary students, but the controversial move could be blocked on appeal.Razing Ala Abu Dhaim's(picture left) family home in Arab East Jerusalem would constitute a reversal of Israel's decision in 2005 to suspend the decades-old counter-measure,which had been condemned internationally as illegal collective punishment. Announcing his decision in a statement, Barak's office said the demolition would be deferred by up to two weeks to allow relatives of the gunman to appeal to the Israeli military top brass and High Court to overturn the order.The court has curbed other Israeli tactics in the face of a Palestinian revolt which erupted in 2000. Abu Dhaim's family could not immediately be reached for comment.Abu Dhaim killed eight students at Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav seminary on March 7 before being shot dead. It was the bloodiest attack on Israelis in two years. Though lionized by armed Palestinian factions, Abu Dhaim appears to have acted alone.The shoot-out was followed by two rampages by Palestinian bulldozer operators in Jerusalem in July which killed three Israelis, and both drivers.The incidents were especially jarring for the Jewish state as the assailants lived in Jerusalem, which Israelis call their capital-a claim not recognized abroad or by Palestinians who want the east of the city as capital of their own future state.Faced with a rash of attacks by Palestinians who, unlike their compatriots in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, enjoy largely unfettered access to Israel proper, Barak convened legal experts to discuss resuming home demolitions.To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah....
