The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) on Wednesday morning demolished a Palestinian-owned house in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber at the pretext of unlicensed construction.
According to local sources an Israeli bulldozer escorted by a large number of police forces stormed the neighborhood and embarked on knocking down the house which was built about five years ago.
The house belonged to a local resident called Mohamed Bashir who prepared and furnished it ahead of his son’s wedding.
Eyewitnesses said that police officers assaulted citizens from the family of Bashir as the bulldozer was reducing the house to rubble.
Following its demolition the police also clashed with local residents and showered them with tear gas canisters. Several citizens suffered from inhaling gas fumes.
Last month the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the number of Palestinian homes and structures demolished or seized and people displaced in 2021 represents an increase of 21 and 28 percent respectively compared with the equivalent figures in 2020.
