ISRAEL: Avenging the Caterpillar attack with more Caterpillars?

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In the aftermath of Wednesday’s earthmover rampage in downtown Jerusalem, Israelis grappled with a familiar question: what, if anything, to do to the home of Hussam Duwayaat, the Palestinian construction worker who killed three people and injured dozens more.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak publicly advocated destroying the Duwayaat family home in Sour Baher, an Arab village on the southern outskirts of Jerusalem. Likud Party Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, a leading candidate for the premiership if Olmert’s shaky coalition falls, followed suit, calling for ‘an iron fist, in order to prevent, deter and punish.’

During the second intifada, specially armored Caterpillar bulldozers routinely demolished the homes of suicide bombers. But the practice was largely discontinued in 2005 in the face of international condemnation and following an Israeli military panel’s conclusion that the demolitions did little to deter future bombers.

Meanwhile Duwayaat’s family was ordered to dismantle a traditional mourning tent for the 30-year-old father of two. Israelis were enraged in March when the family of Alaa Abu Dheim erected a similar tent, including Hamas flags, after Abu Dheim killed eight young Jewish seminary students. A government request to demolish the Abu Dheim family home has been tied up in red tape for months.

The Duwayaat family’s Israeli lawyer expressed remorse for Wednesday’s rampage and offered the family’s condolences to the victims. The lawyer, Shimon Kukush, accused Israeli politicians of ‘sparring for the credit of who will demolish the family’s house first.’

Some of Duwayaat’s cousins groped for alternative explanations, with one speculating that Duwayaat
may have panicked after accidentally hitting a car with his construction vehicle. Others said Duwayaat had a history of legal problems, drug addiction and a quick temper.

Relatives and neighbors said Duwayaat had no strong political and religious leanings, and pointed out that he once had a serious Jewish girlfriend. Israeli media anonymously interviewed the ex-girlfriend, who said he had many Jewish friends, but also a violent temper that led to a 20-month prison sentence for assaulting her.

-- Ashraf Khalil in Jerusalem