OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)
The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) forced on Saturday two Palestinian citizens to demolish their own homes in the east Jerusalem neighborhoods of Jabel Mukaber neighborhood and Umm Tuba at the pretext of unlicensed construction.
One of the owners, Omar Bashir, said that the Israeli municipality ordered him to knock down a room of his house in Jabel Mukaber, where he lives with his wife and two girl children.
The Israeli municipality also displaced a Jerusalemite family after forcing it to raze its own house in Umm Tuba.
A family of eight was living in that house, which had been built about 25 years ago.
Jerusalemite homeowners find themselves forced to demolish their homes at their own expense in order to avoid paying the Israeli municipality exorbitant money in fines and demolition expenses.
The rate at which Palestinian homes and structures are demolished in east Jerusalem has almost doubled since the start of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, human rights groups and monitoring organizations say.
The demolitions are ordered by the Israeli municipal authority which claims that many Palestinian homes and structures are illegally built without permission.
Almost all attempts by Palestinian families in east Jerusalem to apply for planning permission are rejected by the IOA. That means growing families say they have no choice but to build without permits and face the consequences – huge fines and demolition orders.
