RAMALLAH: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed Central Command Chief Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni to demolish the East Jerusalem homes of Israeli Arabs who plowed their bulldozers into crowds of Israelis in two separate attacks in the disputed city.
Israeli sources said the orders were to be executed once Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz and the State Prosecutor’s Office gave the green light.
In early July, Hossam Dwayyat, a father of two from the Sur Baher neighborhood, killed 3 Israelis and wounded 40 when he trampled over pedestrians and vehicles and plowed into two buses in downtown Jerusalem. Days later, Hassan Abu Tair, a resident of Tuba town in East Jerusalem, wounded around 18 Israelis in a similar attack. Israeli police shot dead the two attackers.
According to the decision, the families of Dwayyat and Abu Tair have been given one week to appeal the decision. Should the Central Command reject the appeal, they would have a week to file another appeal with the Israeli High Court of Justice.
In a separate development, the Israeli Housing and Construction Ministry has decided to market plots for the construction of over 2,500 housing units for Jews in Jerusalem, the daily Yediot Ahronot reported.
The report said that Housing and Construction Minister Ze’ev Boim estimated the project would even bring about a drop in prices, making new apartments in certain areas cheaper than the current prices.
Yediot quoted Boim as saying that the tenders should end by February 2009.
