A Palestinian citizen from the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina embarked today on demolishing his own home after was pressured to do so by the all-Israeli municipality of Jerusalem, according to local sources.
Moath Rajabi, a father of fiv children, said he was forced to demolish his only home after the Israeli municipality issued a demolition order against it two weeks ago under the pretext it was built without a permit.
He added that he had no option but to demolish the home himself in order to avoid paying unreasonable demolition costs to the Israeli municipality in the event it carries out the demolition.
Palestinians in Jerusalem say they are forced to build without a permit because getting a building permit is impossible as the right-wing mayor and city council attempt to keep the city’s Palestinian population at a bare minimum while multiplying its Jewish residents by approving the construction of thousands of new housing units in Jewish settlements.
Almost 75 percent of applications for a permit by the Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem are rejected by the municipality, according to rights groups.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency