Israeli court halts demolition of Gaza houses

Palestinians remove belongings Tuesday from their home near Kissufim in Gaza.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The Israeli Supreme Court issued a restraining order Tuesday forbidding the army from destroying 20 Palestinian houses in Gaza until the court rules on the issue.

The order stops the Israel Defense Forces from demolishing the houses on the Kissufim road between Khan Yunis and Dir al-Balah until the court can rule on a petition filed collectively by the residents, a Palestinian rights group and Knesset member Mohammed Barakeh, an Israeli Arab.

The houses are in an area where a suicide bomber blew himself up Monday, killing one Israeli woman settler and two Israeli troops.

The IDF said that before the order was issued it demolished a number of buildings in the area because they had been used by the suicide bomber to attack the settler convoy.

"Following the attack yesterday in which an Israeli woman was killed along with an IDF officer and soldier, the IDF performed a flattening close to the route in the Kissufim area," an IDF statement said.

"A number of uninhabited buildings were demolished, under the cover of which the attacker reached the road in order to carry out his attack. Also there was shrubbery near the road that was pulled out."

The petition maintains the residents of the homes have never been involved in any crimes or any attacks on Israelis.

It says their only crime was to live in the area next to where the attack occurred.

The residents of the homes were given just a few hours to vacate.

Barakeh said he hoped the order would be made permanent and would save "hundreds if not thousands of Palestinian homes in the territories."