Israeli forces are sealing off the east Jerusalem home of a Palestinian who killed four soldiers in a truck-ramming attack before being shot dead, police said Wednesday. Fadi al-Qunbar, 28, rammed his vehicle into a group of soldiers visiting a popular tourist site near his Jabal Mukaber home on January 8, killing four and wounding 15. He was shot dead by security forces.
The attack at the Armon Hanatziv promenade overlooking the Old City's Dome of the Rock came amid a wave of Palestinian lone-wolf assaults that began in October 2015. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested at the time that the attack was inspired by the Islamic State group, which had carried out similar attacks in Germany and France. Qunbar's relatives said he had nothing to do with the jihadist group.
Israeli authorities frequently punish the families of Palestinian attackers by demolishing their homes or sealing them up - evicting the residents, blocking the entrances and pouring in cement to make the dwellings uninhabitable. Israeli authorities say such measures deter potential Palestinian attackers. A police spokeswoman told AFP that the sealing of Qunbar's home would take two days. Israel has not returned Qunbar's body to his family for burial, arguing that withholding bodies in this way helps avoid clashes during funerals.
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