Israeli sappers today totally demolished a luxurious villa in the Rimal quarter of Gaza that had been used as a hideout by three terrorists killed in a clash with Israeli forces last Friday. Dr. Rashad Mausmar, a prominent Gaza physician who Israel claims owned the villa, is under detention and faces charges of sheltering terrorists. His family was permitted to remove valuables and furnishings from the building before it was destroyed.
Israeli authorities rejected representations by Gaza notables to spare the Villa on grounds that it was only leased by Dr. Mousmar. The notables claimed the building was actually owned by a local Arab, Abdel Karim el Saurani, who, they said, is now an American citizen working in Rangoon, Burma, under contract to the United Nations. Is- raeli authorities said Dr. Mousmar’s ownership was established.
In any event Israeli officials noted that the demolition of premises used to shelter terrorists was sanctioned not only by Israeli law but by the Egyptian law introduced into the Gaza Strip in 1948 and by the laws of the British mandatory regime in Palestine before that. Israeli sappers destroyed the building in stages, using small explosive charges. The operation took two hours. Care was taken not to damage adjacent buildings.
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