JERUSALEM, Tuesday, October 29, 2019 (WAFA) – An Israeli military bulldozer today demolished a shack and razed a plot of land in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, according to sources.

Mohammad Abu al-Hummos, a local activist, told WAFA that Israeli police escorted a bulldozer to Issawiya, where the heavy machinery demolished a shack and razed a 400-meter-square plot of land.

The owners of the shack and plot of land were identified as Luay Mahmoud and Ishaq Hamdan respectively.

Earlier today, Israeli bulldozers forced a Palestinian to tear down his house, and demolished a Palestinian-owned house in the neighborhood of al-Suwwana.

Palestinian appeals to demolition orders are frequently dismissed by Israeli courts, which are in fact complicit in perpetuating the Israeli policies of forcible transfer and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

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.

K.T./ K.F.