Israeli bulldozers demolish commercial structures in Jerusalem-district town

Israeli occupation authorities today demolished commercial structures in Hizma town, northeast of Jerusalem, according to WAFA correspondent.

 

He said that Israeli forces cordoned off an area close to the military checkpoint at the entrance of the town, where they tore down eight structures belonging to al-Khatib family.

 

The Israeli Central Court in Jerusalem had rejected a petition submitted by Regavim settler group to demolish the structures two months ago, but later on the occupation authorities issued decisions in favor of the demolition, as pointed by Medhat Dheibeh, an attorney.

 

Regavim, which promotes Israeli Jewish settlers’ “right” to colonize Palestine, mirroring the techniques and strategies of liberal human rights NGOs, had submitted the petition seeking to carry out the demolition of the structures purportedly for being located within the boundaries of the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem.

 

Israel demolishes Palestinian houses and structures almost on a daily basis as a means to achieve “demographic control” of the occupied territories.

 

Israel denies planning permits for Palestinians to build on their own land or to extend existing houses to accommodate natural growth, particularly in Jerusalem and Area C, which constitutes 60 percent of the occupied West Bank and falls under full Israeli military rule, forcing residents to build without obtaining rarely-granted permits to provide shelters for their families.

 

In contrast, Israel argues that building within existing colonial settlements is necessary to accommodate the “natural growth” of settlers. Therefore, it much more easily gives the estimated 550,000 Jewish Israeli settlers there building permits and provides them with roads, electricity, water and sewage systems that remain inaccessible to many neighboring Palestinians.

 

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

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