Biden Admin. Slams Israel for demolishing mansion of wealthy terrorist
On Thursday, the IDF demolished the mansion of Muntasir Shalabi who shot three young yeshiva students in a drive-by shooting attack at a bus stop at the Tapuah Junction in Shomron, murdering Yehuda Guetta, age 19.
The mansion of Muntasir Shalabi, the murderer of 19-year-old Yehuda Guetta z”l, being destroyed. Per Abu Ali Express, those are calls from the crowd for Abu Abeda, the spokesman for #Hamas‘ military branch, at around the 0.28 mark. pic.twitter.com/lW3tLRIVLC
— (((David Lange))) (@Israellycool) July 8, 2021
The US Embassy condemned the IDF demolition
“As we stated numerous times, the home of an entire family should not be demolished for the actions of one individual,” a spokesman from the US Embassy said. “We believe it is critical for all parties to refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions and undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution, this certainly includes the punitive demolition of Palestinian homes.” the statement said.
An unnamed official in the Prime Minister’s Office said that while Prime Minister Naftali Bennett “respects” the United States, Israel must act in the interest of its citizens.
The state prosecution argued that Shalabi owned the house and had renovated it recently. The family’s claimed that the demolition was collective punishment but prosecutors claimed the need to provide a deterrent against future attacks was weightier than the need for consideration of the relatives who may have been uninvolved in the attack.
Shalabi was arrested after a three-day manhunt and, as a prisoner in the Israeli prison system who stands accused of murdering Jews, will be receiving payments from the PA as a reward for his crime.
After the demolition, the wife was filmed praising her husband as “a hero”. “This is our life. What happened to us is normal. We were prepared for it,” she said.
מה שנשאר מביתו של המחבל מנתצר אלשלבי שרצח את תלמיד הישיבה יהודה גואטה. pic.twitter.com/9bnhP1F3t5
— اسف جيبور assaf gibor (@assafgibor) July 8, 2021
The IDF troops carrying out the court-ordered demolition were attacked by a crowd of about 200 Palestinian rioters. The IDF responded with crowd control measures.
Soon after being inaugurated, Biden restored funding to the Palestinian Authority despite the move possibly being illegal and in contravention of the Taylor Force act. The Biden State Department admitted that some of the funding could be used for terrorism.
Israel in the News