Israeli leaders vow more settlements as homes of Palestinian assailants bulldozed

Violent protests broke out in a West Bank refugee camp after Israeli forces demolished the homes of two Palestinians whose December attack led to the death of two Israelis, the army said on Monday

The demolitions and clashes, in which four Palestinians were slightly injured as Israeli forces opened fire, came as Israeli leaders threatened to build more Jewish-only settlements in the occupied territories.

The overnight demolitions took place in the Qalandia refugee camp, between Jerusalem and Ramallah, an AFP reporter said.

A military spokeswoman said the forces had razed the homes of Issa Assaf and Annan Hammed, who were shot dead during a 23 December attack near Jerusalem's Old City.

"Armed with knives, the two assailants stabbed pedestrians at the scene, brutally killing rabbi Reuven Birmajer and wounding a civilian," the spokeswoman said. "In addition, Ofer Ben Ari was killed" by security forces who shot Assaf and Hammed dead.

"During the demolition, multiple violent riots erupted," with Palestinians throwing rocks and opening fire, the spokeswoman said. Israeli forces eventually opened fire at "main instigators," she said.

Israel routinely demolishes homes of Palestinian assailants in what it says claims a deterrent to further attacks. Rights groups say it amounts to collective punishment, with families forced to suffer for the acts of relatives.

A wave of violence since October has killed at least 214 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese. 

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, Israeli authorities say.

Prominent Israeli politicians vowed to expand Jewish-only settlements across the occupied Palestinian territories at the funeral of 13-year-old Israeli-American girl Hallel Yala Ariel, who was stabbed to death in Hebron. 

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the ultra-nationalist Jewish Home Party, said: "We will build in Sarona and Kiryat Arba, in Jaffa and Jerusalem, in Itamar and Beersheba."

Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, the girl's cousin and a key figure in the Israeli settlement movement, said building settlements was needed "now more than ever" and called for "Israeli sovereignty" in the West Bank. 

Yehuda Glick, a far-right Israeli politician, also called for Israel to annex the West Bank and for Jewish-Israelis to increase their incursions into the Al-Aqsa compound, the third holiest site for Muslims.