JERUSALEM, February 3, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli authorities Wednesday demolished a car repair workshop in the town of Issawiya, in the northern outskirts of Jerusalem, citing unpermitted building as a pretext, local sources told WAFA.

WAFA correspondent said an Israeli police contingent broke into Issawiya and proceeded to demolish the workshop with the cars still inside.  The workshop belonged to local Palestinian Haitham Mustafa.

Mustafa told WAFA that he has incurred unreasonable financial losses by the demolition, which saw the police’s heavy machinery bring down the workshop, where clients’ cars were kept, awaiting repair.

During the demolition procedure, Israeli police cordoned off the area denied local Palestinians’ access to the site.

To be noted, issuance of construction permits by Israeli authorities for Palestinians in Jerusalem, unlike for Jewish settlers, requires unreasonable fees that most families cannot afford to pay.

The Israeli Committee against House Demolitions (ICAHD) explains in a special report “in almost all cases Palestinians have no choice but to build ‘illegally’, as permits are almost impossible to obtain.”

“Many Palestinians have suffered multiple displacements, having lost their homes and livelihoods more than once. Forced displacement has a series of immediate and longer-term physical, socio-economic and psycho-social impacts on Palestinian families.”

It added, “It deprives them of their home and land – often their main asset – and frequently results in disruption to livelihoods, a reduced standard of living and access to basic services. The impact on children can be particularly devastating,” said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

On Tuesday, Israeli bulldozers demolished two Palestinian houses in the Jerusalem area, under the same above-mentioned pretext.

M.N./T.R.