RAMALLAH, November 22, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli bulldozers Tuesday demolished the remaining part of a Palestinian home in the Jerusalem neighborhood of al-Tur for being built with Israeli-issued permit, said locals.
Escorting a bulldozer, Israeli police and Israeli Municipality of West Jerusalem staff raided al-Tur neighborhood in East Jerusalem, cordoning it off and deploying throughout the alleys of the neighborhood before proceeding to demolish the remaining part of a building under construction.
The home reportedly occupied an area of 150 square-meters and belonged to local resident Mahmoud al-Hadra. It had been partly demolished by Israeli bulldozers together with two other buildings in Wadi al-Joz and al-Issawiya neighborhoods on November 8.
Despite filing building permit applications, Palestinians in the West Bank, especially East Jerusalem and Area C, are rarely granted permits by Israeli authorities. As a result, they are forced to embark on construction without obtaining rarely-granted permits.
Israel frequently utilizes the lack of construction permits as a pretext for demolishing Palestinian houses.
Many humanitarian and legal bodies have maintained that Israel have been adopting planning policies discriminatory against Palestinians in West Bank Area C and East Jerusalem, making it extremely difficult for them to obtain building permits.
“As a result, many Palestinians build without permits to meet their housing needs and risk having their structures demolished. Palestinians must have the opportunity to participate in a fair and equitable planning system that ensures their needs are met,” OCHA reports.
Although Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, they are denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as "residents" whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.
They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel‘s separation wall.
K.F./T.R.
