Palestinian forced to self-demolishes his house in Jerusalem neighbourhood

JERUSALEM: Israeli occupation authorities today forced a Palestinian to demolish his own house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Issawiya, according to a local source. Amjad Mahmoud told WAFA that he was forced by the occupation authorities to tear down his 100-square-meter house, purportedly for being built without a license, leaving his seven-member family homeless. He added that he had carried out the demolition of his house, where he had been living along with his family, including three children aged between 6 years and two months, for four years, to avoid paying exorbitant fines should the occupation municipality of Jerusalem demolish the structure on its own. Using the pretext of illegal building, Israel demolishes houses regularly to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem. At the same time, the occupation municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal colonies in East Jerusalem for Jews to offset the demographic balance in favour of the Jewish colonists 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 occupation 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 intern ational law. Source: Palestine news & Information Agency - WAFA