Israeli occupation forces demolish house of Palestinian martyr in Beit Hanina

JERUSALEM: This evening, Israeli occupation forces demolished the family home of Khalid Al-Muhtasib, a Palestinian killed by Israeli forces, in the town of Beit Hanina, north of occupied Jerusalem, according to local sources. The sources reported that the Israeli forces detonated part of Al-Muhtasib's family home in the Ashqariya neighborhood of Beit Hanina, while sealing off the other part with concrete. The house is located on the ground floor of a three-story residential building. The occupation forces further forced the residents of the building and nearby buildings to evacuate their homes before pouring concrete into part of the home and detonating the other part, causing damage to nearby houses. Khalid Al-Muhtasib, 21, was shot dead by Israeli forces on October 12, 2023, near the Rashidiya School, close to the northern wall of the Old City of occupied Jerusalem. His body remains held by the occupation forces until today. Israeli occupation authorities have long used to punitively demolish the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out attacks on Israelis, a policy that Israel does not apply to Israeli settlers who are involved in fatal attacks against Palestinians. B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, says: 'The people who bear the brunt of the [punitive] demolitions are relatives - including women, the elderly, and children - whom Israel does not suspect of involvement in any offense.' Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA