Bulldozers of the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem today razed an under-construction house and a nursery in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Jabal al-Mukabber and Isawiyya, according to local sources.

Israeli police and municipal staff escorted a bulldozer to Jabal al-Mukabber where the heavy machinery tore down an under-construction house belonging to Omar Jaafra purportedly for being built without a rarely-issued license.

The police detained two young men in the course of the demolition.

Meanwhile, the municipality bulldozers swept a plot of land and tore down a nursery belonging to Rafat Tareq in Isawiyya neighborhood.

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.

SOURCE: PALESTINE NEWS & INFO AGENCY