The decision by Israel's defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, suspends a practice that Israel has employed on and off for decades despite harsh international criticism of it as collective punishment.

A military statement did not say why the policy was being changed, but the newspaper Haaretz reported on its Web site that Maj. Gen. Udi Shani, who headed a committee reviewing the matter, had challenged the existing military position that demolitions were an effective deterrent. It said he had concluded that the policy had caused Israel more harm than good by generating hatred among the Palestinians. . . .

"It's a bittersweet victory, a confirmation of what we've been saying all along," said Rabbi Arik Ascherman, the head of Rabbis for Human Rights, referring to the report that the army had decided demolitions were ineffective as deterrents.