After evicting its Palestinian family, Israeli municipality proceeds to demolish house in East Jerusalem

JERUSALEM, The Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem proceeded this afternoon to demolish the Karameh family home in al-Tur neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem after it was forced to evacuate it, reported witnesses.

The municipality staff forcibly removed this morning members of the Karameh family and their furniture from their two-story building before the municipality began the demolition on the pretext of construction without a permit.

By the early afternoon, the building was turned into rubble.

Israeli police attacked journalists and residents who were watching the demolition, injuring some as they were forced to leave the area.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that nine people sustained injuries; three were treated at the scene and six others who required hospitalization.

The all-Israeli municipality, headed by a right-wing mayor and deputy mayor, has recently intensified its campaign against Palestinian-owned homes in the occupied section of the city, issuing demolition orders or forcing homeowners to carry out the demolition themselves to avoid paying inflated fees if the demolition was carried out by the municipality.

Hundreds of Palestinian homes in the city are under threat of forced eviction and demolition under the pretext of construction without a permit as getting a construction permit in the city is almost impossible due to the municipality’s discriminatory policies against Arabs, which forces people to build on their lands without a permit, risking the possibility of demolition and paying very high fines and court costs.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency