JERUSALEM, February 19, 2017 (WAFA) – Israeli police Sunday issued orders to demolish 40 Palestinian-owned houses in the area of Khan al-Ahmar, northeast the city of Jerusalem, local sources said.

Eid al-Jahalin, a witness, told WAFA that Israeli police raided the area in the early dawn hours and notified residents to evacuate their houses. Residents were given until February 23rd to leave their houses in order for the Israeli municipality to carry out the demolitions.

Al-Jahalin noted that residents have been living in those houses since 1967, saying that this area is one of the most targeted areas by Israeli authorities.

Palestinians living in Jerusalem say it’s impossible to obtain a permit to build structures in the city as the city’s mayor attempts to keep Palestinian population at lowest rate, while multiplying Jewish population through issuing more settler units’ permits.  

According to a recent report by B‘Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, 2016 marked a major increase in the number of Palestinian houses demolished by Israel in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, saying that "these demolitions are indicative of Israel’s efforts to Palestinian presence in the areas it seeks to take over, taking advantage of planning and administrative tools to that end."

K.T/M.H