JERUSALEM, Two Palestinians from the occupied Jerusalem neighborhoods of Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah embarked today on demolishing their own home and shop respectively after they were forced to do so by Israeli municipality, according to local sources.
Rami Eweda, a Palestinian citizen based in Silwan neighborhood, said he was forced to demolish their his home after the Israeli municipality issued a demolition order against it under the pretext it was built without a permit.
Eweda said he had no choice but to start demolishing the home himself in order to avoid paying unreasonable demolition costs to the Israeli municipality in the event it carried out the demolition.
In Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, a Palestinian citizen, Jamal Abu Nejmeh, said he embarked on demolishing a shop of his own after he was pressured to do so by the Israeli municipality.
Palestinians in Jerusalem say they are forced to build without a permit because getting a building permit is impossible as the right-wing mayor and city council attempt to keep the city’s Palestinian population at a bare minimum while multiplying its Jewish residents by approving the construction of thousands of new housing units in Jewish settlements.
Almost 75 percent of applications for a permit by the Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem are rejected by the municipality, according to rights groups.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency