Israel to demolish Palestinian-owned facilities near Jerusalem

JERUSALEM: Israeli occupation authorities Monday handed over demolition orders to a number of facilities in the occupied city of Jerusalem. Local sources in the town of Hizma, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, reported that a demolition and eviction order issued by the Israeli occupation municipality against the house of Abdel Dayem Mohammad Khatib will be implemented within 20 days, starting yesterday, adding that the order includes paying financial fines if the demolition is not carried out. The occupation municipality in Wadi al-Jouz neighborhood in central occupied Jerusalem also delivered notices to demolish a car showroom and to remove its laundry, otherwise the occupation municipality will demolish them itself. The advisor to the governor of Jerusalem, Marouf Al-Rifai, said that the occupation government has begun giving direct orders for demolition operations, noting that the demolition is taking place without notifications. Some homeowners said that there are decisions filed in the occupation cour ts to license buildings, but the occupation demolished these homes without waiting for decisions to be issued, and that the operations demolitions are taking place inside and outside the apartehid wall. He added that the Israel is demolishing buildings inside the towns of East Jerusalem despite obtaining a license from the municipalities, and there are more than 33,000 properties threatened with demolition in Jerusalem. "We are facing difficulty in counting demolitions and demolition notices in Jerusalem," he said. Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA