Palestinian forced to self-demolish his house in Al-Quds

Occupied Al-Quds, Israeli occupation authorities Tuesday morning forced a Palestinian to demolish his own house in the East Al-Quds (Jerusalem) neighborhood of Jabal Al-Mukaber, according to local sources, Wafa News Agency reported.

They said that Aziz Oweisa tore down his house purportedly for being built without a license after being fined 32,000 shekels (some USD $10,000) by the occupation authorities.

The Oweisa family carried out the demolition to avoid paying exorbitant fines if the Israeli occupation municipality of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) carries out the demolition on its own.

They added that the family received the demolition order two weeks ago, nothing that they were only given until Monday evening to self-demolish the house.

Meanwhile, another resident of of Jabal Al-Mukaber was received a demolition notice against his house under the same flimsy pretext.

Using the pretext of illegal building, Israel demolishes houses on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Al-Quds (Jerusalem).

At the same time, the municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in East Al-Quds( Jerusalem) for Jews with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish settlers in the occupied city.

Although Palestinians in East Al-Quds (Jerusalem), a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, they are denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as “residents” whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.

They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel’s separation wall.

Raghda Sawas