JERUSALEM, Wednesday, August 12, 2020 (WAFA) - Israeli police today razed a plot of land and ordered a Palestinian to demolish his own house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukaber, said local sources.
They said that Israeli police and crews of the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem escorted a bulldozer into an area in the neighborhood, where they razed a plot of land.
Meanwhile, Aziz Ellian embarked on tearing down a 100-meter-square extension to his house in the same neighborhood to avoid paying exorbitant costs if the Jerusalem municipality carries out the demolition itself.
He pointed out that despite attempting to obtain a building license, the Israeli municipality did not grant him the license and instead fined him with NIS 22,000 (some USD 6,500) for lacking the construction license.
Wadi Hilweh Information Center, a Silwan-based media center, posted a video for the land razing as well as another showing Ellian demolishing the extension of his house using a small bulldozer.
This came as Israeli police demolished a wall under construction to the east of Qanaldiya, north of Jerusalem.
All the structures were demolished purportedly for lacking the rarely-granted construction licenses.
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.
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.
They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel's separation wall.
According to a report by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem, the Israeli High Court could be liable for war crimes for their policies that led to the dispossession of Palestinians from their properties in Area C of the West Bank.
The report, Fake Justice, shows that the court’s support of Israeli planning policy is tantamount to support for dispossession and forcible transfer of Palestinians, a war crime under international law.
K.F.
