The Israeli army on Monday destroyed the home of a Palestinian near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, after he stabbed to death a 13-year-old Israeli-American girl in a settlement, a military spokeswoman said.

Mohammed Nasser Tarayrah, 19, broke into a house in the Kiryat Arba settlement where Hallel Yaffa Ariel was sleeping and stabbed the dual national dozens of times in her bed.

Tarayrah was killed by settlement guards after the 30 June attack.

Israel frequently destroys the homes of Palestinians who have carried out attacks.

Critics of the policy denounce it as a collective punishment, which leaves the families of attackers homeless, but the Israeli government says it discourages others who might be thinking about carrying out similar acts.

Since October, 219 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have died in violence in Israel, the Palestinian Territories and Jerusalem, according to an AFP tally.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, Israeli authorities say.

Source: middleeasteye.net