JERUSALEM, February 14, 2026 (WAFA) – Israeli occupation authorities on Saturday forced a Jerusalemite citizen to demolish his own home on Al-Zaytouna Street in the town of Beit Hanina, north of occupied Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Governorate reported that the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem issued a demolition order against Rami Al-Bakri’s 35 square meters house, under the pretext of lacking of an Israeli-issued permit.

The home, which was built eight years ago, consists of a room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It was inhabited by Rami and his newlywed wife.

The municipality notified al-Bakri of the demolition order about two weeks ago, prompting him to demolish the house himself to avoid paying additional exorbitant costs.

He had previously paid fines totaling around 40,000 shekels, in addition to lawyer fees and the expenses related to the licensing process.

Under the pretext of building without a permit, which is rarely granted to Palestinians in the occupied city, the Israeli municipality has been demolishing or forcing Palestinians to demolish their own houses as part of a policy aimed at restricting Palestinian expansion and growth in occupied Jerusalem.

Palestinians in East Jerusalem find themselves compelled to tear down their homes after receiving a demolition order to avoid paying exorbitant costs to the Israeli municipality if it carries out the demolition.

Palestinians say they are forced to build without permits because the Israeli municipality discriminates against them and refuses to issue permits or places unreasonable conditions that they cannot afford to issue a permit.

At the same time, thousands of housing units are built for Jewish settlers in the city on appropriated Palestinian lands and are made easily accessible to them.

T.R.