A Palestinian resident of occupied East Jerusalem proceeded tonight to demolish his own house in the Khilet al-Ein area in the town of at-Tur to avoid paying high costs and fines after he received demolition orders from the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem, according to local sources.
Mohammed Dwaik proceeded to tear down his house at Khilet al-Ein area in the town of at-Tur to avoid paying exorbitant costs if the Jerusalem municipality carries out the demolition on its own.
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 a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish settlers in the occupied city.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency