Israel says its plans to demolish the West Bank homes of several Palestinians it believes have been involved in recent attacks on Israelis.
The Israeli military said Monday it had sent notices to an undisclosed number of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, telling them they have 48 hours to appeal the demolition orders. If the Palestinians do not appeal, or lose the appeals, the military said their homes could be immediately knocked down.
Those targeted for the demolitions have been accused of carrying out deadly attacks in recent weeks, including ramming vehicles into commuters at Jerusalem's light rail platforms.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month ordered the home demolitions in response to the wave of violence that has erupted over Muslim-Jewish tensions at a Jerusalem holy site. Jews revere the Temple Mount as the site of Jewish temples in biblical times, while Muslims view the al-Aqsa mosque as their third holiest site after two in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the European Union is weighing whether to impose economic sanctions against Israel for its construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem that could preclude making East Jerusalem the capital of a future Palestinian state.
