JERUSALEM, November 22, 2017 (WAFA) –The Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem demolished on Wednesday two Palestinian-owned houses in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Issawiya and Shufat under the pretext they were built without a permit, according to local sources.

Israeli police provided protection to municipality staff as they proceeded to demolish the house in Issawiya, which belonged to Sharif Muheisen, and later moved to demolish the Shufat house, which belonged to Mohammad Abu Khdeir.

Issawiya residents held a protest at the entrance of their neighborhood two days ago to protest Israeli escalation in home demolition.

Palestinians says it is almost impossible to get a building permit from the Israeli municipality, which has a goal to keep Palestinian residents of the occupied city to a minimum while increasing the number of Jews in the city by building thousands of housing units in Israeli- only illegal settlements.

K.T./M.K.