The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) issued several demolition orders against Palestinian houses in Silwan town south of the Al Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem on Monday.
Local sources reported that the occupation municipality crews raided several areas in Silwan and took pictures of several houses. They also delivered notices of renewing old demolition orders for their owners and warned of their expiry dates.
Fakhri Abu Dhiab a member of the Silwan Lands Defense Committee said that the occupation municipality had issued notices to demolish 13 inhabited homes in the town.
Abu Diyab added that the occupation municipality had notified the demolition of 10 houses in the Al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan and 3 others in the Karam Al-Sheikh area under the pretext of building without a license. Nevertheless these houses meet the requirements of construction and there are also unlicensed homes for Israeli settlers that are only a few meters away he pointed out.
The houses are inhabited by 76 people most of them are children and women and most of the houses were built more than ten years ago.
Silwan’s people announced a few months ago their rejection of self-demolitions of their homes. They decided in a statement to stand firm and support those whose houses were demolished.
Jerusalem in general and Silwan in particular is systematically targeted by the occupation municipality to displace and break the resolve of its inhabitants with the policies of demolishing homes and fining their owners before and after the demolition. This is an attempt to force the townspeople to acquiesce to the IOA decisions to divide the town and legitimize settlement in it.
Recently there has been an escalation in the demolition of homes of Jerusalemites who are being forced to carry out self-demolitions under the pretext of unlicensed buildings.
Alyan family in Al-Issawiya town in Jerusalem had rejected the IOA decision to demolish their home stressing that they would not leave it even if the house was demolished above their heads and would not demolish it by their own hands.
Abdu family who lives in Jabal Al Mukaber in Jerusalem also rejected the IOA decision to demolish their home under the pretext of not having a license. They stressed that they would not demolish it by their own hands after they were warned to self-demolish or else it would be demolished by municipality crews at high-cost.
