A Palestinian resident of the Issawiyeh neighborhood was forced today to demolish his house with his own hands to avoid paying high costs and fines after he received a demolition order from the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem, according to local activist As’ad Dari.
In al-Issawiya neighborhood in East Jerusalem, resident Abdel-Rahman Obaid tore down his newly-built 3-storey house with his own hands after being ordered to do so by the Israeli municipality to avoid paying exorbitant costs and fines if the municipality carries out the demolition itself.
The order, which cited unpermitted construction as a pretext, gave Obaid until tomorrow to demolish the house or else the municipality will demolish it and obligate him to pay the costs, which amounts to 400 thousand Shekels (approximately 122 thousand Dollars).
Many Palestinians in the occupied city embark on demolishing their own houses to avoid paying the high costs that will be imposed on them by the Israeli municipality.
Using the pretext of illegal building, Israel demolishes Palestinian-owned houses on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem.
Source: Palestinian New & Info Agency