JERUSALEM, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces demolished early on Wednesday the residential home of a Palestinian suspected of killing an Israeli soldier and a civilian in the West Bank in March.

Bulldozers accompanying by Israeli army troops, Border Police officers, and the Civil Administration personnel carried out the demolition of the apartment of Omar Amin Abu Lila in the village of a-Zawiya, southeast of Qalqilya, an Israeli military spokesperson said in a statement.

"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will continue to operate in order to thwart terror and maintain the security in the area," the statement read.

Abu Lila, 19, was shot dead amidst fire exchanges with Israeli forces after a two-day manhunt that followed the deadly attack, according to the army.

In March, he stabbed a soldier and took his assault rifle before going on a shooting spree outside the settlement of Ariel, according to Israeli authorities.

He killed a 19-year-old Israeli soldier and a 47-year-old father of 12, who was a resident of the settlement of Ali. Another soldier was seriously injured.

Israel says the house demolitions are an effective deterrent against attacks. Critics counter the tactic, saying it amounts to an unlawful collective punishment that leaves the relatives homeless.

Since Israel seized the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967, it has demolished hundreds of Palestinian homes as a punitive measure, aimed at deterring Palestinians from carrying out attacks against Israelis in the future.

In early 2005, a Defense Ministry committee concluded that the measure is ineffective, and Israel ceased to use it. However, the government renewed the controversial practice in 2015, in the wake of the wave of street attacks.