JERUSALEM, November 14, 2017 (WAFA) – A Palestinian store owner demolished on Tuesday his small shop in Silwan, an East Jerusalem neighborhood, after the Israeli municipality threatened to demolish it under the pretext that it was built without a permit and force him to pay exorbitant demolition costs, according to Wadi Hilweh Information Center.

The municipality informed Amin Abbasi two weeks ago that if he does not demolish his shop within 30 days, its crews will demolish it and force him to pay for the demolition costs, which are usually high.

Wadi Hilweh Information Center noted that the store was constructed two years ago and built from metal siding.

This is the second self-demolition of structures in Silwan in the past 48 hours after another Palestinian resident demolished section of his house in Silwan for the same reason after the Israeli municipality threatened to demolish the house and force him to pay unreasonable costs for the demolition.

According to international and Israeli civil organizations, Palestinians are forced to build on their property in East Jerusalem without permits because the Israeli municipality rarely issues construction permits to them.

Testimonies collected by the Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ) also found that the procedures to apply for Israeli-issued building permits were lengthy, sometimes lasting for several years, while the application costs could reach up to $80,000. As four out of five of Palestinians in East Jerusalem live under the poverty line, applying for costly building permits is nearly impossible, leading to only seven percent of Jerusalem building permits go to Palestinian neighborhoods.

K.T./M.K.