JERUSALEM, Wednesday, April 17, 2019 (WAFA) – Israeli bulldozers Wednesday morning demolished a Palestinian house and storehouses in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.

WAFA correspondent said that dozens of Israeli police cordoned off the Wadi Yasul area in Silwan and deployed in the alleyways as the municipality bulldozers proceeded to demolish the house and storehouses under the pretense of being built without a rarely-issued Israeli license.

Local Palestinians scuffled with police and attempted to prevent the demolition, but they were assaulted by police officers. Several Palestinians sustained injuries as a result of the police assault.

The owner of the demolished structures was identified as Ezz al-Deen Barqan.

The demolition took place three days after an Israeli court rejected an appeal submitted by the homeowners against the planned demolition.

Israeli courts, seen as the last judicial recourse against demolitions, in fact are complicit in perpetuating the Israeli policies of forcible transfer against Palestinians.

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.T./ K.F.