JERUSALEM, July 14, 2025 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation authorities forced a Palestinian citizen on Monday to self-demolish his home in the town of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Jerusalem Governorate reported that the occupation troops forced Maher al-Salaymeh, from the Wadi Qaddum neighborhood in the town, to self-demolish his home.

The governorate added that the house, which consists of two apartments and houses seven people, has been built for more than 35 years and covers an area of approximately 140 square meters.

It is worth noting that the occupation authorities had previously demolished another home belonging to the al-Salaymeh family, as part of a systematic policy targeting Jerusalemites through demolition orders and population restrictions.

The occupation authorities force citizens in occupied Jerusalem to self-demolish their homes under the pretext of lacking a permit. Those who refuse to do so have their homes demolished by bulldozers, imposing heavy costs on the owners.

The occupation municipality in Jerusalem refuses to grant Palestinian citizens building permits and demolishes or forces them to demolish their homes. This practice violates international laws and humanitarian norms that guarantee the right to housing.

It is also a part of the Israeli systematic practices of forcibly displacing Palestinians from the city of Jerusalem, in exchange for expanding settlements in the city and its surroundings.

It is worth noting that the number of homes and facilities destroyed by the Israeli occupation authorities in the governorate since the beginning of the aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, has reached 623.

These include residential homes, some of which have been inhabited for decades, and others under construction, in addition to commercial and economic facilities that provide a source of livelihood for dozens of Jerusalemite families, according to the Jerusalem Governorate.

K.T