The Israeli army has razed the family home of a Palestinian suicide bomber who jarred a six-week-old ceasefire but avoided major military responses, mindful of calls for restraint to preserve a shaky peace plan.
Two suicide bombers from Nablus killed two Israelis in back-to-back attacks on Tuesday in what their militant factions said were acts of revenge for an army raid in Nablus that killed two wanted Hamas men in the West Bank city.
Before Palestinian faction chiefs declared a truce, suicide bombings often brought sledgehammer Israeli counter-strikes with tanks or missiles. This time Israel said it was committed to achieving calm to advance on the "road map" plan for peace.
The fact that Israelis are enjoying their first relatively quiet summer for three years with a revival of tourism crucial to the economy also militated against a swift relapse into the cycle of tit-for-tat bloodshed that scuttled previous diplomacy.
Israeli forces settled for demolishing the home of Khamis Jarwan, 17, from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades who blew himself up in an Israeli supermarket. The demolition in Nablus's Askar refugee camp in the pre-dawn hours left 12 people homeless.
"The demolition of houses of terrorists sends a message to suicide bombers and their partners that anyone who participated in terrorist activity will pay a price for their actions," the Israeli Army said in a statement.
The other suicide bomber, who killed a Jewish settler at a West Bank bus stop, also lived in Askar near the Jarwan family. Israeli army bulldozers remained in the neighbourhood, raising the possibility that the second bomber's house would go as well.
Islamic militant chiefs suggested the attacks were a one-off reaction and said they still stood by the truce they declared along with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction.