JERUSALEM, Saturday, October 16, 2021 (WAFA) – A Palestinian citizen from the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan embarked today on demolishing a room he had annexed to his home, after he was forced to do so by Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem to avoid paying exorbitant costs if the municipality carries out the demolition on its own.

Hamza Bazbazat said he was forced to demolish a room which he had annexted to his home after being asked to do so by the Israeli municipality, under the pretext it was built without a permit. He said he had no choice but to demolish the room to avoid paying unreasonable demolition costs to the Israeli municipality.

In addition, said Bazbazat, the demolition occurred despite the fact that he had been asked to pay around $33,000 in fines for the construction of the room to the Israeli municipality since 2005.

Palestinians in Jerusalem often find themselves with no choice but to build without a permit because getting a building permit is impossible as the right-wing all-Israeli city council attempts to keep the city’s Palestinian population at a bare minimum while multiplying its Jewish residents.

Almost 75 percent of applications for a permit by the Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem are rejected by the municipality, according to rights groups.

M.N