RAMALLAH, A Palestinian family from the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan celebrated today their daughter’s wedding on the rubble of their home, which was razed to the ground by the Israeli occupation forces on May 10.
Fares Al-Rajabi said his sister had dreamed of celebrating her wedding at her family’s home, and that the family insisted on achieving the dream of their daughter by celebrating her wedding on top of the rubble of their home.
Al-Rajabi’s home was an apartment in a five-storey building which was demolished by the Israeli occupation forces on May 10, under the pretext it was built without an Israeli permit.
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 Israeli municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in East Jerusalem for Jewish settlers with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the settler population.
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.
Source: Palestine News & Info Agency