The Israeli authorities have ordered the Palestinian citizen Murad Hsheima 38 to demolish his own house in Ras al-Amud in Occupied Jerusalem. Otherwise the municipality would carry out the demolition and force him to pay 60000 NIS and serve two months in jail.
Hsheima who suffers from serious lung problems and is unemployed because of his illness said on Saturday that an Israeli court gave him a time limit until 10 December to demolish his house for allegedly being unlicensed.
He noted that he has paid over 160000 NIS as a fine to the Israeli authorities for the house that was built 20 years ago.
Hsheima explained that his house had one floor covering an area of 85 square meters and in 1998 he decided to add other rooms and built a second floor to live there with his wife and four children along with his brother’s family: his wife and six children.
He affirmed that he repeatedly tried to obtain the necessary building permits but could not because of the tightened Israeli restrictions.
Palestinians living in Occupied Jerusalem are often forced to demolish their own homes. Those who do not abide by the orders are usually subjected to steep fines. The Israeli-controlled Jerusalem municipality in most cases refuses to give the Jerusalemites the permits they need for their construction activities.
According to Palestinian sources 19 houses have been demolished in Jerusalem by their owners since the beginning of 2018.
