JERUSALEM, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israeli army said on Tuesday that a demolition order was issued for the home of a fugitive Palestinian who was suspected of perpetrating a deadly shooting attack in West Bank in October.
Israeli Commanding Officer of the Central Command Nadav Padan issued the demolition order for the basement and ground floors of the home where Ashraf Na'alowa lived with his family in the northern West Bank village of Shuweika, the military said.
The military first notified the Na'alowa family about the demolition on Oct. 15. The order came after the military rejected an objection against the demolition filed by the family.
The army said in a statement that security forces are still hunting for Na'alowa.
Na'alowa, 23, has been at large since the Oct. 7 attack, in which he allegedly shot dead two of his Israeli coworkers at a factory in the Barkan Industrial Zone where he was employed. A third Israeli was wounded in the attack.
The recent order was rare because although Israel frequently demolishes homes of Palestinian assailants, the measure is usually taken after the suspects were caught and admitted guilty of carrying out the attack.
Since Israel seized the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967, it has demolished hundreds of Palestinian homes as a punitive measure aimed at deterring Palestinians from carrying out attacks against Israelis in the future.
In early 2005, Israeli Defense Ministry committee concluded that the measure is ineffective and ceased it. However, the government renewed the controversial practice later in 2015, in the wake of the wave of street attacks.
The U.S. administration has denounced the demolitions as "counterproductive." Palestinians and human rights organizations say it constitutes an unlawful collective punishment that leaves the relatives homeless.
