IDF soldiers operated overnight Monday in the Palestinian Arab village of Ni'lin in the Binyamin region and demolished the home of Moataz al-Khawaja, who carried out the shooting attack on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv about two months ago.
Palestinian Arab sources reported that the terrorist's neighbors were forced to evacuate their homes during the operation.
Israeli citizen Or Eshkar was murdered and two other civilians were wounded in the attack in March. Eshkar was seriously wounded in the attack and was evacuated to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, where he died 11 days later.
The terrorist was shot by two policemen and two civilians and killed at the scene. The attack occurred during a terrorist wave in which 14 people were murdered within a month.
In late March, the IDF announced its intention to demolish al-Khawaja’s home. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ordered the demolition of the home after rejecting his family's petition against the demolition.
Among the Supreme Court's reasons for moving ahead with the demolition: The terrorist's father is a Hamas operative who praised the attack while "expressing clear support for his son's actions and terrorism in general". The ruling also stated that "the order issued in relation to the apartment meets the requirement of proportionality, and is necessary to deter potential hazards."
The terrorist was a Hamas operative and a former security prisoner who entered Israel illegally. In the past he was convicted of possession of weapons and sentenced to one year and three months in prison. The terrorist was released from prison four years before the attack.