JERUSALEM (JTA) — The West Bank homes of the two terrorists who killed four Israelis in a shooting attack on the popular Sarona Market in Tel Aviv were demolished.
The Israel Defense Forces razed the Hebron-area homes of cousins Mohammed Mahamra and Khaled Mahamra on Wednesday night using bulldozers and explosives. They reportedly did not meet with any resistance or rioting.
A joint investigation by the Shin Bet, the IDF and the Border Police found that the men entered a wide gap in the West Bank security fence leading to the Israeli settlement Meitar, near Beersheba. The men were carrying arms. They reportedly were inspired by the Islamic State to carry out the attack, which also injured six.
The two shooters were caught after the attack and are awaiting trial on charges of murder. A third Palestinian man is accused of assisting them.
The victims were Michael Feige, 58, a professor in the Israel studies program at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Ido Ben Ari, 42, of Ramat Gan; Ilana Navaa, 39, of Tel Aviv ; and Mila Mishayev, 33, of Ashkelon, who was soon to be married.
Only the top floor of the building in which Mohammed Mahamra lives was demolished, in keeping with the Supreme Court’s approval of the demolition order. The entire building in which Khalid Mahamra and his family lives was demolished, after the court said in its decision that members of his family knew he was planning the attack and praised it on social media.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court approved the demolition of the home of Muhammad Nasser Tarayrah, 17, who killed Hallel Yaffa Ariel, a dual Israeli and American citizen, as she slept in her Kiryat Arba home.
Immediately following the attack the village was sealed off and permits to work in Israel were revoked for the village’s residents, many of whom are related to the attacker. Tarayrah’s sister and two of his brothers was arrested for incitement after publicly praising their brother’s actions.
The court approved the destruction of the floor on which Tarayrah lived, but ordered the home sealed off in case the floor cannot be destroyed without razing the entire building.
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