JERUSALEM, Tuesday, August 06, 2019 (WAFA) – Israeli bulldozers demolished a Palestinian house and a retaining wall in the occupied city of Jerusalem.

Israeli police cordoned off an area in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina as a bulldozer proceeded to demolish a house belonging to Eyad Khalil Kiswani.

Kiswani told WAFA correspondent that the demolition took place although he had not received any prior notice.

He added that he himself along with wife and three children, aged 13 to 16, were forced out of their 140-square-meter house by police at gun point before the demolition was carried out.  

Meanwhile, Wadi Hilweh Information Center reported that Israeli police raided the Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiyeh, paving the way to a bulldozer to demolish a retaining wall and an outdoor ground.

The Silwan-based watchdog posted a video showing police blocking the entrance to a Palestinian house, whose owner is not identified, as the demolition was carried out.

Both structures were demolished under the pretext that they were built without a permit.

Using the pretext of illegal building, Israel demolishes houses on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem.

At the same time, the municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in East Jerusalem for Jews with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish settlers in the occupied city.

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.