Pack your bags, we're destroying your home.

They do it frequently - house for an eye?

Yes, they do it because the palestinian organizations pay the families after the suicide. It's been going on for years. The families know it will happen.

Yep.

It falls under very shady territory as it is punishment for the acts of an already dead individual.

But it's aimed at reducing incentivation and is portrayed as a deterrent by the Israelis.

The US doesn't take kindly to it but does not object to it except in times when they want the Israelis on good behavior.

Personally I understand the motivations of the Israelis, but I think they are foolish to do this.

If the house were owned by the bomber it would make sense, but that is often not the case. In the sprawling camps there is really no ownership as it were.

The parents of the bombers sometimes had no idea of the bomber's intentions. The social dynamics of the region is such that they are usually both "proud" of the bomber's act as well as mouring the death.

So in the squalor and poverty this is Israel's retaliation. The reasoning is that the bomber has decided on suicide and can't be deterred by threat of punishment.

So knowing that the family will be punished in his/her stead is supposed to be a deterrent.

It obviously doesn't deter all the bombings but nobody will ever know whether it deters others who we'll never hear about.

The moral basis of the policy is really simplistic. There's no moral basis for punishing relatives of a criminal.

So the entire moral basis must be drawn from "desperate measures" rationales and attempts to deter even more morally reprehensible acts like the bombings.

As expected this is a popular approach only in Israel.

Even Israel's most ardent supporters like the US do not sanction this, even if it's not a battle we choose to pick with Israel.

I know that it repulses me beyond words.

Turn about
From being the persecuted the Jews have become the persecutioners. When Sheron wanted to give up some land 100K protested in the streets. Seems that most of the Israelis don't want to give up anything to esablish peace. Well, I guess they will have to put up with people being blown up on a regular basis.

The whole situation is beyond sad, it is overwhelming.

From the outset I have never understood how the State of Israel came to be a state on the bodies of people already living there. On the other hand I can't sanction people blowing up innocent children on buses. I know that Israel justifies some of their actions based on real threats from suicide bombers and Palestinians justify their actions of suicide bombing as the only weapon they have in which to fight with. It is really a hopeless situation.

I totally agree with you revel, both sides have been hurt and have done crimes against humanity. It's very sad to hear about Israeli babies whose heads have been blown off by a suicideattack; it's also very sad to hear about Palestinian children being shot "by accident" by the IDF.
In the case of the destruction of the suicide-bomber's house and the houses of his family: sometimes the family doesn't even know yet that their familymember has blown himself/herself up when the bulldozers start destroying their homes. It's all very sad, but Israel should not do this - it will only push more Palestinians to blow theirselves up due to frustration in Israeli malls and busses. On the other hand, it's time for the Palestinian Authority to act, and not to relax on its corrupt ass.