Israel punishes attacker's family as violence rages
Israeli forces Sunday prepared for the demolition of the east Jerusalem family home of a Palestinian man who killed seven people near a synagogue, as part of measures to punish the relatives of attackers.
The step comes as violence rages in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which also saw dozens of Palestinians killed this month, sparking global alarm.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due in Jerusalem on Monday to discuss steps for de-escalation, while Pope Francis on Sunday decried the "death spiral" and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged "maximum responsibility" in calls with his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts.
In the wake of two shooting attacks targeting Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet moved to punish "the families of terrorists that support terrorism".
The government is planning to rescind the rights to social security benefits of attackers' relatives and is also considering easing access to guns for Israeli civilians.
In the first concrete move, Netanyahu's cabinet said the east Jerusalem home of Khayri Alqam, 21 -- who was shot dead by police following Friday's attack -- "will be sealed immediately ahead of its...