JERUSALEM, Sunday, August 27, 2023 (WAFA) – The Israeli occupation’s municipality of Jerusalem levied heavy fines today on a number of Palestinian traders operating in the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem, according to local sources.

Witnesses said Israeli municipality crews, accompanied by Israeli police, entered the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood and proceeded to issue hefty financial penalties to local traders. This action comes in the wake of the municipality delivering demolition orders to approximately 59 homes and businesses in the neighborhood around two weeks ago.  

The arbitrary actions taken by the occupation authorities against the residents of Wadi al-Joz are widely perceived as part of a strategy to pressure them to leave their homes and commercial establishments.

The purpose behind these actions is to create what the occupation authorities claim to be an industrial zone housing dozens of buildings. This supposed industrial hub is positioned to replace the existing industrial area of Jerusalem.

These measures are believed to be part of a larger policy aimed at altering the demographic and economic landscape of Jerusalem in favor of the Israeli settler population. The ongoing displacement and disruption of the lives of indigenous Palestinian residents in the city have elicited international condemnation and concerns over the violation of their rights.

Israel’s imposition of fines on traders only exacerbates tensions in the region and highlights the broader challenges faced by Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.

M.N