OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) forced a Palestinian citizen and his son to demolish their homes in the east Jerusalem district of Silwan, south of the Aqsa Mosque, under the pretext of unlicensed construction.
According to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, Jerusalemite Ahmad al-Abbasi was forced on Wednesday evening to demolish two homes belonging to him and his son Zaid in the Suweih neighborhood of Silwan following a municipal order.
The two homes covered an area of about 160 square meters, and al-Abbasi had already paid more than 130,000 shekels in fines to the municipality.
To avoid further hefty fines and the steep costs levied by municipal demolition crews, Abbasi and his son were forced to destroy the homes themselves.
The son, Zaid, had been furnishing his home in preparation for his upcoming wedding.
The Israeli municipality continues to coerce Jerusalem residents into demolishing their own homes, while at the same time refusing to grant them building permits.
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 municipality, which claims that many Palestinian homes and structures are illegally built without permission.
All attempts by Palestinian families in east Jerusalem to apply for planning permission are rejected by the municipality. That means growing families say they have no choice but to build without permits and face the consequences, huge fines and demolition orders.
