Israel continues collective punishment, destroy homes and olive trees

Two Palestinians were killed on Friday at dawn upon their attack of an Israeli military position in Gaza while the Israeli forces continued their operations of demolishing houses of Palestinians and leveling their agricultural lands.

An Israeli military source admitted that the two youths opened fire from light weapons at an Israeli position in Kfar Daroum within the group of the settlements of Ghoushe Katieve claiming that only one soldier was wounded in the clashes, whereas Palestinian sources said that Midhat al-Yaziji from Beit Lahia and Wael Dasouqi from al-Maghazi camp were killed during their implementation of an operation against the Israeli forces and that they are members of al-Aqsa Martyrs groups.

Meantime, the Israeli forces on Friday demolished the house of one of the Hamas leaders in Toulkarem and arrested 15 Palestinians from al-Khalil and Nablus under the charge of resisting the occupation.

Palestinian sources said that two Israeli bulldozers incurred, protected by the tanks, in several areas of Gaza and demolished lands planted with olives and oranges in Deir al-Balah, where the Israeli soldiers opened fire at the houses of the Palestinians.

The sources said the Israeli forces carried out vast mopping up operations in Beit Lahia and fired several shells at Khan Younis camp.

The Palestinian authority condemned the policy of destroying the houses of the Palestinian resistance men.

The Palestinian local rule official Saeb Oreikat said that the Israeli forces warned of the destruction of 30 houses in Toulkarem area on handing over "resistance men" to Israel.

Oreikat added that the policy of destroying houses falls in the course of war crimes and collective punishment imposed by the Israeli authorities against the Palestinians. He called on the international community to immediately move in order to halt the continued Israeli crimes and aggressions.