A Palestinian resident of occupied East Jerusalem was forced at orders from the West Jerusalem Israeli municipality to demolish his own house located in Jabal al-Mukabber neighborhood under the pretext the house was built without a permit in order to avoid paying heavy costs and fines.
Ali Khalil Shqeirat told WAFA that Israeli municipality staff gave him the demolition order on Wednesday and was told that if he does not demolish it himself, the municipality will demolish it and force him to pay exorbitant fees and costs.
He said that to avoid paying the large costs, he proceeded to demolish his 70-square-meter house, which he lives in with his wife, using manual tools.
Palestinians in the occupied section of the city rarely get a permit to build or expand their homes, a policy of the various municipalities of West Jerusalem that seek to contain the number of Palestinians in the city while building thousands of housing units in settlements built illegally on expropriated Palestinian land for Jewish settlers.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency