The Dubious Demolition Policy Israel Just Can't Quit

On April 6, Israeli army Sargent Elchai Taharlev, 20, was standing by a bus stop in the West Bank, when a car driven by a Palestinian purposely veered off the road and killed him. Two months later, Hadas Malka, 23, was standing guard with the border police outside the Old City of Jerusalem when she was killed by three Palestinian terrorists in a combination shooting-stabbing attack. Last week, the Israel Defense Forces destroyed the homes of the terrorists involved.

Although Israel’s practice of home demolition is controversial, and thus much-discussed, its origins aren’t as well-known. It was first employed by the British in the Second Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902). As Boer commandos waged a guerrilla war against the British, seeking to destroy infrastructure, the British authorized the army to destroy homes in the vicinity of the attacks, as a disincentive to further raids.