Israel to evict Palestinian family of their Jerusalem house in preparation of demolition

Israeli occupation authorities today notified a Palestinian family of the need to evict their house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan in preparation of impending demolition.

Israeli police informed Imad Husseini and his family of the need to evict their house in Wadi Qaddoum, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, allowing them 21 days to leave before the dwelling is demolished.

According to Husseini’s wife, the house was constructed 40 years ago, and her family purchased it from its previous owner 17 years ago before the family built two additional rooms as an extension to it. The rooms were demolished afterwards by the Israeli municipality.

She elaborated that not only did they receive a demolition order against the two rooms several years ago, but they also received another demolition order against their house in 2018. They managed to defer the execution of the demolition order several times and even attempted to retroactively get a construction license from the Israeli authorities, but to no avail.

Using the pretext of illegal building, Israel demolishes houses on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem.

At the same time, the municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in East Jerusalem for Jews with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish settlers 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 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 international law.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

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