Omar Abu Laila

The Israeli army on Wednesday demolished the home of Omar Abu Laila, a Palestinian man who allegedly perpetrated a shooting attack in the West Bank that killed two Israelis in March.

Israeli forces killed the suspect, Laila, two days after a soldier and rabbi were killed in the attack near the Israeli settlement of Ariel.

Israel’s security agency, the Shin Bet, said that Laila was shot dead after he opened fire when Israeli forces tried to apprehend him in a village near Ramallah.

His home in the village of Az-Zawiya, south-east of Qalqilya, was blown up in accordance with an Israeli army policy of deterrence against additional Palestinian attacks.

The practice of destroying homes is controversial under international law and some human rights groups call it a war crime.

The relatives of the attacker are often left homeless.

(dpa/NAN)