The Israeli army on Tuesday tore down the homes of two Palestinians suspected of killing an Israeli security guard at a West Bank settlement in April.
Vyacheslav Golev was killed in a shootout at the entrance to a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank on April 29. The Palestinian insurgent group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.
The army later arrested two Palestinians suspected of carrying out the attack. On Tuesday, the army said it tore down their houses in Qarawat Bani Hassan, a town in the northern West Bank.
In a statement, the army said its forces faced a violent protest during which firebombs and burning tires were thrown at soldiers.
Israel routinely demolishes the homes of Palestinian attackers killed or captured who have killed Israelis, claiming this serves as a deterrent to future attacks. Palestinians and human rights groups say this practice amounts to collective punishment.
For months, Israeli troops have carried out almost daily raids in the West Bank following a series of deadly attacks in which Palestinian assailants killed 19 Israelis.
The army has met resistance during some of these operations, some of which have been lethal. More than 60 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of the year, according to an official Palestinian count.
The Palestinians want the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem , territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, as part of a future independent state.