A demolition was postponed in order not to lead to a deterioration in the security situation in the West Bank ahead of Biden’s visit.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett decided that the home of terrorist Raed Hazam, who killed three people and injured 11 in a shooting on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv on April 7, will not be demolished until after US President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel in July, Army Radio reported on Wednesday.
Delayed demolition
The demolition was postponed in order not to lead to a deterioration in the security situation in the West Bank ahead of Biden’s visit, scheduled for July 14, according to the Army Radio report.
The demolition was scheduled for Tuesday night but was called off a number of hours in advance due to an intervention by Bennett, who demanded that the IDF reevaluate the move’s necessity
Hazam lived in Jenin, in which IDF forces routinely face armed resistance.
The demolition order was signed on May 6 after it was approved by the High Court of Justice.
A political decision
The IDF said it was acting on the orders of the political echelon.
“The terrorist’s home will be demolished,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in response to Army Radio. “Security forces carry out every operation, in every front, according to broad operational considerations.
“The forces will continue to act in any place required in accordance with the need and operational context,” the PMO said.
“Bennett is tying the IDF’s hands, harming our deterrence and endangering Israel’s safety only for his political survival.”
The Likud party
“Bennett is tying the IDF’s hands, harming our deterrence and endangering Israel’s safety only for his political survival. The terrorist’s house should be demolished immediately,” the Likud said in a statement.
“Bennett arranged a dangerous public relations visit by Biden and is selling Israel’s security and its sovereignty in east Jerusalem for a campaign photo,” MK Betzalel Smotrich (Religious Zionists) wrote on Twitter.