JERUSALEM, Thursday, February 13, 2020 (WAFA) – The Israeli municipality of Jerusalem demolished today a house belonging to a Palestinian citizen in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, under the pretext of being built without an Israeli permit, the house owner said.

Iyad Shweiki told WAFA that two days ago, the crews of the Israeli municipality handed him a notice of the demolition order which asked him to evacuate his house, which shelters his family of six.

He said the Israeli municipality informed him that a school will be built on the ruins of his home.

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 Jewish settlers with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish population in the occupied city.

Although Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory, have been subject to Israeli 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.

M.N