JERUSALEM, Monday, December 9, 2019 (WAFA) – The Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem forced a Palestinian resident in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukkabir, to demolish the room where he and his family have been living.

Local sources told WAFA the municipality forced Ali Jaabis to demolish his 70-square-meters room where he and his family have been living, citing unpermitted construction as a pretext.

Jaabis was handed a notice two days ago ordering him to demolish the room or else the municipality would send its own crews to demolish it and force the family to pay exorbitant costs.

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.

T.R.