JERUSALEM, May 24, 2016 (WAFA) – Staff from the so-called West Jerusalem municipality Tuesday launched a demolition campaign against Palestinian-owned structures in the town of al-Issawiya, an Arab neighbourhood in Jerusalem, according to a local official.

Member of the follow up committee in al-Issawiya, Ra’ed Abu Ryaleh, told WAFA that Israeli forces demolished  the foundations of a private-owned Palestinian house in al-Thahra neighbourhood in the said town, as well as razed a land and knocked down its surrounding wall, in addition to several structures present on the land.

The house belongs to local Mohammed Mustafa, whereas the land belongs to local Amen Khalaf.

The official said Israeli large Israeli military forces, who accompanied the municipal staff, imposed a tight military cordon around the area prior to the demolition, spurring clashes with Palestinian locals.

Shortly after, bulldozers of the said Israeli municipality demolished a shed used as a storage in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan, under the pretext of being built without Israeli-issued permit.

According to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights and information center, “From the very outset of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, it instituted a planning, development and construction policy whereby construction by Palestinians was restricted while Israeli settlements were allocated very extensive areas for establishment and expansion.”

“Israel thereby created a situation in which thousands of Palestinians are forced – as the only recourse for housing their families – to build unlicensed homes. This remains the policy in Area C, the area still under full Israeli control, which comprises approximately 60% of the West Bank.”

T.R.