• Israel says demolishing the homes of relatives of attackers and their fellow villagers is a deterrent to future attacks
• Palestinians and human rights groups say it is a form of collective punishment prohibited by international law

JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said on Monday it will demolish the homes of two Palestinian gunmen who shot and killed six people at a bus stop in Jerusalem earlier this month in one of the deadliest attacks in the city in the past few years.

The shooting took place against the backdrop of nearly two years of war in Gaza that has devastated the enclave, and amid a surge in attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Jerusalem attackers were shot dead at the scene. Israel says demolishing the homes of relatives of attackers and their fellow villagers is a deterrent to future attacks.

Palestinians and human rights groups say it is a form of collective punishment prohibited by international law.

Earlier this month, Israel ordered the demolition of all homes built without permits in Qatanna and Qubeiba — the hometowns of the attackers, and said 750 people from the town would have their work permits revoked.

Reuters