BETHLEHEM, May 3, 2012 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Thursday demolished a restaurant in al-Makhrour area of Beit Jala, south of Jerusalem, under the pretext of not having a building permit, reported local residents.
They told WAFA that Israeli bulldozers protected by soldiers raided the area in the early morning hours and sealed it off preventing people from reaching it or their lands.
The soldiers surrounded the 300-square-meter restaurant, owned by Ramzi Qaisyeh, before demolishing it.
Beit Jala mayor, Raji Zeidan, said al-Makhrour area has been targeted by the Israeli authorities where four homes have been demolished, agricultural land razed, and more than 50 electricity poles removed cutting off power to 12 Palestinian homes in the area.
In addition, several demolition warnings were handed to residents in the area.
Zeidan said Israel aims to force the residents to leave that area as a prelude to seize it for the benefit of settlement expansion.
T.R./M.S.
