RAMALLAH, June 22 (Xinhua) — The Israeli army on Thursday predawn blew up in the northern West Bank city of Nablus the family home of a Palestinian prisoner who was involved in killing an Israeli eight months ago, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.
Israeli army forces, backed by armored vehicles and bulldozers, stormed the city to demolish the home of Kamal Jouri, a Palestinian from the city, who was arrested after his involvement in the shooting attack, the sources said.
The 130-square-meter apartment was located on the second floor of a residential building and housed a family of five. Jouri, a member of the armed group called the Lions’ Den, was arrested on Feb. 13.
Eyewitnesses said they heard a huge explosion, adding that before destroying the house, the soldiers evacuated the residents and asked them to stay away.
Fierce clashes broke out between dozens of Palestinians and the soldiers of the Israeli army forces, said the eyewitnesses, who added that the Palestinians threw stones at the soldiers, who fired teargas to disperse them.
Ahmad Jibril, head of the Ambulance and Emergency Department at the Red Crescent Society in Nablus, said the ambulance crew dealt with 165 cases of suffocation as a result of the toxic gas fired by the soldiers.
He added that a young man was injured in the foot by a gas bomb and an ambulance was also directly hit and damaged by a gas bomb.
West Bank tensions have been flaring up since early January. Over the past three days, the tensions have mounted, causing multiple deaths on both sides.