Israeli police today cracked down on an anti-house-demolition sit-in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, according to WAFA correspondent.
She said that following the conclusion of the Friday midday prayer, a sizable police force barged their way into a building at the imminent threat of demolition in Wadi Qaddum neighborhood, dispersed the participants in the sit-in using volleys of tear gas canisters and concussion grenades to disperse them and removed a Palestine flag from the site.
Dozens of Silwan residents performed their Friday prayer in front of the building, which comprises 13 residential apartments, as a means to protest the demolition order.
If carried out, the demolition would result in the displacement of 100 people, including a large number of children.
Using the pretext of illegal building, Israel demolishes houses on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem.
At the same time, the municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in East 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 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.
According to a report by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, the Israeli High Court could be liable for war crimes for their policies that led to the dispossession of Palestinians from their properties in Area C of the West Bank.
The report, Fake Justice, shows that the court’s support of Israeli planning policy is tantamount to support for dispossession and forcible transfer of Palestinians, a war crime under international law.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency