JERUSALEM, A Palestinian family from the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Thawri embarked today on demolishing its home after it was forced to do so by the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem.
The Showaiki family was forced to demolish its privately-owned house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Thawri, under the pretext of being built without an Israeli-issued permit.
The Israeli occupation authorities also forced Jerusalemite resident Mahmoud Abu Rayya to self-demolish part of his house in the village of Al-Sharafat, south of occupied Jerusalem, before he managed to obtain a decision to postpone the demolition for a period of three months.
Using the pretext of building without a permit, which is rarely granted to Palestinians in the occupied city, the Israeli municipality has condemned hundreds of Palestinian-owned houses as part of a policy aimed to restrict Palestinian expansion and number 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 the goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish settlers in the occupied city.
Source: Palestine News & Info Agency