‘Collective punishment’: Family home of suspect demolished in West Bank

Demolition of Palestinian Family's Home Sparked by Alleged Bombing Suspect

In a devastating display of collective punishment, Israeli forces demolished the home of an extended family in Nablus, West Bank, yesterday. The Sanoubar family, whose 30-year-old relative Abdul Karim is accused of conspiring to perpetrate bus bombings in Bat Yam near Tel Aviv, had just over two minutes to leave their apartment block before it was reduced to rubble.

Eyewitnesses described the scene as "apocalyptic," with huge clouds of dust and smoke billowing out of the building's floors. The blast shook the area, causing widespread panic among the community. Despite no one being injured or killed in the incident, the Israeli authorities claim that the demolition is a necessary measure to deter future attacks.

However, family members argue that the act is meant to intimidate and frighten them into submission. Amer Sanoubar, Abdul Karim's father, stated, "They did this to frighten us... They want to make sure no young Palestinian ever thinks of carrying a single bullet." The 61-year-old man expressed outrage over the use of collective punishment, saying, "This is completely unjust."

The Israeli army has been using Operation Five Stones as a counterterrorism operation in the occupied West Bank, and the Sanoubar family's home was one of its targets. The family claims that they received a demolition notice in April and were given just 72 hours to file an objection, which the court rejected.

The demolition has left the Sanoubar family scattered across Nablus and surrounding areas, sheltering with different relatives. Other families living nearby have also been affected by the Israeli actions, many with external damage to repair.

Human rights groups widely condemn Israel's strategy of collective punishment as a tactic against international law. The Sanoubar brothers, Ahmad and Omar, aged 31 and 33 respectively, are also being held under administrative detention after their younger brother was detained. Their mother and sister have also been detained on several occasions.

As the dust settles, Amer Sanoubar is left to survey the remains of his lifelong home, now a gaping hole in the landscape. The message "We fight so we can live" emblazoned on the wall of Abdul Karim's top-floor bedroom still stands as a haunting reminder of the devastating consequences of Israel's actions.

Ugh, this is like the worst layout ever ... I mean, think about it, the demolition notice was just 72 hours and they had to leave in TWO MINUTES? That's insane! And what really gets me is that the family claims they received a warning and were given time to file an objection but the court still rejected it. It's like, where's the due process?

And can we talk about the aesthetics of the situation for a sec? The image of huge clouds of dust and smoke billowing out of the building is literally apocalyptic ... But seriously, what kind of layout design would lead to something like this happening in the first place? You'd think they could've at least provided more notice or given them more time to vacate.

And don't even get me started on the messaging here... "We fight so we can live" is a really powerful message, but shouldn't it be "We live so we can fight"? It's just a matter of perspective, right?

this is so heartbreaking, demolition of their home is like taking away everything they ever knew, its not fair to punish an entire family for one person's actions they're just scared and didn't think it through, collective punishment is never the answer, its a vicious cycle that only causes more harm...

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." ~ Oscar Wilde Demolishing someone's home to deter future attacks? It's not that easy. The Israeli forces need to understand that collective punishment only fuels more violence and suffering. This will just make the people of Nablus angrier, and the cycle of hate will continue...

I'm literally livid about this ! Destroying someones home over some alleged suspect is just not right, fam . I mean, we're talking about collective punishment here - it's like they're trying to break the spirit of an entire family . Amer Sanoubar's words are so true, they did this to scare them into submission . Like, what even is the point of that? Is it really gonna stop people from wanting revenge or seeking justice?

And have you seen the state of their place after the demolition? It's like a war zone! I'm not buying the "deter future attacks" excuse either . There has to be a better way to deal with these situations. We need to stand up for what's right here and not let Israel get away with this kinda thing . The Sanoubar family is literally suffering because of some dude's alleged crime... it's just not cool, fam

this is just so heartbreaking the fact that an entire family had to be uprooted from their home because of one person's alleged actions is just devastating. it's like, we get it, there needs to be accountability for terrorist acts, but collective punishment is never the answer it's just a form of revenge and intimidation. i mean, what about due process? isn't Abdul Karim entitled to a fair trial or at least some kind of rehabilitation program instead of being held in administrative detention? we can't just abandon our values of justice and fairness when it comes to dealing with conflicts like this. the international community needs to step in and condemn these actions, and Israel needs to rethink its approach to counterterrorism

this is super frustrating and heartbreaking at the same time... i mean, demolishing someone's home just because their relative might be involved in some alleged terrorism? that's not even justice, it's like, collective punishment for an entire family... it's crazy how something like that can happen right under our noses and we can't even do anything about it .

i feel so bad for the Sanoubar family and all the other families who are going through this... they're already dealing with so much stress and uncertainty in their lives, and now this? it's just too much . i wish there was a way to resolve conflicts without resorting to something like that... maybe some kind of dialogue or mediation?

omg u wont believe wot just happened in Nablus the israeli forces came & destroyed this family's home cuz one of their relatives is accused of bombing a bus like how can they do dat to an entire fam?! amer sanoubar is literally crying about his life b4 & afta the demolishn it's like they r tryna scare the whole community into submission human rights groups are all over this cuz its totaly unjust why can't israel jus use a diff tactic 2 prevent terrorism?

this is just awful... I don't get why they're demolishing their home over some alleged bombing suspect... isn't that collective punishment? i've seen vids of the demolition and it looks like such a mess, how can they claim it's gonna deter attacks when it's just scaring innocent people into hiding? sources say it's part of op five stones but i need to see more info on that before i believe it. how many ppl live in nablus and how is this affecting them all? it's not just one family, there are other families nearby who got affected too... human rights groups are saying it's against international law but what can be done about it?

this is just heart-wrenching, demolishing someone's home because their family member is suspected of terrorism is just plain cruel, i mean what's next? gonna tear down someone's house 'cause they're friends with a guy who's accused of stealing a cookie from the office break room the whole idea of collective punishment is just a big ol' slap in the face to humanity, it's like saying "you're guilty until proven innocent" and then punishing everyone just because one person might be capable of something bad... it's just not right

I just saw this news and it's absolutely heartbreaking . Destroying someone's home is one thing, but to do it to an entire family because of a suspected relative? It's like they're punishing all of them for the alleged crime . Collective punishment isn't right, no matter what the justification is . I feel so bad for Amer and his family having to live in fear with their homes reduced to rubble . This operation feels like a war tactic, not a solution . Something needs to change here...

my heart just went out to this fam... demolishing someones home because their cousin is accused of something is like, totally not fair . collective punishment is like, totally against international law and it's just gonna push more young pals into feeling like they gotta do something crazy . and whats with the 2 min warning? cant they see that a fam is living there? this is just so unfair . its not just about the family, its about the whole community being affected too . israel has got to find a better way to deal with these situations instead of resorting to destruction and fear

This is just heartbreaking. Demolishing someone's home isn't exactly what I'd call a fair way to deal with alleged threats, right? It's like, okay, if Abdul Karim did allegedly do something wrong, why have to take it out on his whole family? That's just not cool . And what really gets me is that the Israeli authorities are saying this is all about "deterrent" measures... but isn't that just another word for "we're going to scare you into submission"? It's a super gray area, and I'm just not convinced that it's doing more good than harm. The human rights groups are right to speak out against this kind of thing – we need to find better ways to deal with conflicts like this!

this is just heartbreaking the demolition of their home was totally uncalled for and I think it's completely unfair to punish an entire family like that just because one of them might be connected to a bombing suspect it's not right to make everyone pay for what one person did. Amer Sanoubar's words really hit home, it's true justice isn't being served here

just saw that Israeli forces demolished the home of this Palestinian family because one of their relatives is suspected of being involved in some bombings. it's like they're trying to punish an entire community for something one person did... the dad of the accused guy is saying it's all just a way to scare them into not doing anything else, but it's still super messed up that innocent people are losing their homes

man this is crazy they just demolished an entire family's home over one person being suspected of something it feels like collective punishment which is never okay anyone can be mistaken for a terrorist and have their whole life ruined because of it. i think its time for the international community to step in and make some noise about this kind of thing happening to innocent people. how are we supposed to even rebuild trust when the government takes away everything from you like that?

this is just so messed up - i mean, what's the point of demolishing some family's home cos one of their relatives might be involved in something? it's like taking revenge on an entire fam for somethin that 1 person did. it's not fair to the rest of them who didn't do anything wrong!
i feel bad for amer sanoubar and his fam - they're just tryna make a living and live their lives, but no one gives 'em a break. it's like israel's got this super strict "counterterrorism" policy that's just leadin to more problems instead of solvin them.
and what really gets me is how human rights groups are condemnIN' this behavior... like, we should be workin together as a global community to find solutions that don't involve hurtin innocent people

omg this is so sad the way israel is treating the sanoubar fam is just heartbreaking they're being punished for something their relative might've done, which doesn't mean they did it and it's not right that they had to leave their home in like 2 mins... i feel bad for amer sanoubar's reaction too, he's so upset about what happened to his family the whole thing just feels like israel is using its power to scare people into being quiet & not fight back, which is a really bad tactic

I'm thinking, what's going on here is like, totally unacceptable . I mean, you've got this family, right? Just trying to live their lives in Nablus, and then suddenly they're hit with this massive demolition order because one relative might have been involved in a bombing plot... it's just not fair .

And what really gets me is that the Israeli authorities are saying that this is some kind of deterrent measure, but it's basically just collective punishment, you know? Like, they're trying to scare the whole community into submission. It's like something out of a bad movie script .

I mean, think about it, if this were to happen in the US or Europe, there would be massive outrage and protests. But because it's happening in Palestine, everyone just seems to shrug it off... it's not right, you know?

We need to start holding these kinds of actions accountable, even when they're perpetrated by governments we don't agree with. It's all about setting a precedent and showing that there are consequences for such actions. Maybe then people will sit up and take notice... or maybe I'm just dreaming .

I don't usually comment but... I'm really shaken by this story . Demolishing someone's home, no matter what they're accused of, is never okay in my book. It's like, they didn't even give the family a chance to appeal or leave peacefully. And now, Amer Sanoubar is left with nothing but dust and rubble. The phrase "We fight so we can live" really resonated with me... it's just so sad that families are being torn apart because of someone else's actions. I don't think collective punishment is ever an effective solution – it only creates more suffering and resentment.