Agencies-Gaza post
92 new destruction charges against Jerusalemite families with eviction from houses
In current days, the Israeli occupation municipality expanded its distribution of destruction orders for houses and facilities in the occupied city of Jerusalem. They reached 92 destruction orders, sought to forcibly displace Jerusalemites, raising stress and conditions on them, and fought them socio-economically.
The Jerusalemites, who accepted these orders, fear that the occupation municipality’s bulldozers will destroy their houses at any moment, replacing them and ejecting them to the streets.
Since the start of 2022, the rate of demolition of homes and facilities in Jerusalem escalated noticeably, under the pretext of these establishments lacking a permit. 80 demolitions were reported during the first half of this year, of which 37 were carried out by their owners as “self-demolition”, in order to avoid paying fines and destruction fees to municipality forces and mechanisms according to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center.
Member of the Silwan Lands Defense Committee, Fakhri Abu Diab says that the occupation municipality is undertaking a systematic attack on the city of Jerusalem, as it gave 92 destruction orders for different houses and facilities this week, that concentrated in the neighborhoods of Silwan, Jabal Mukaber, Sur Baher, Beit Hanina, Al-Isawiya and Al-Tur.
Abu Diab described in an interview with “Safa” news agency that, since the start of this year, the occupation municipality has distributed 1,862 judicial and administrative destruction orders for homes and facilities in separate neighborhoods of the city.
The municipality denied structural and corporate projects, the issuance of building permits for 52 residential buildings, and plans for 5 entire Jerusalem neighborhoods, despite their owners fulfilling all the necessary conditions and policies.
Abu Diab points out that entire communities are threatened with destruction, such as Al-Bustan, Wadi Yasoul, and Ain Al-Lawzeh in the town of Silwan, and over 2,100 units in Jabal Al-Mukabber are also threatened with demolition in favor of the development of the territory and the roads leading to them like the “American Road.”
He added that the occupation municipality has banned, since 1967, granting Jerusalemites in the so-called “Holy Basin” any building permits, with the purpose of limiting construction and decreasing the number of Jerusalemites (Palestinians), as well as discouraging the development and expansion of Jerusalem neighborhoods, which leads to the result of population issue in the city.
It is shown that the people of Jerusalem need 5,000 housing teams annually, for young couples and for the natural development of the population, but the occupation authorities prevent building and urban expansion in the Holy City.
According to Abu Diab, by doing so, the occupation authorities are aiming to expand regulations on Jerusalemites and push them to emigrate and escape their homes.
From the opening of the year until the start of July, the occupation municipality set about 21 million and 600,000 shekels as building breaches and financial penalties on Jerusalemites.
The occupation’s targeting was not restricted to residential buildings but also involved commercial establishments, whether by closure or destruction, in order to cut off the livelihood of residents and push them to search for other sources of revenue outside the city, not to say that there are dozens of mosques that have not been spared destruction orders.
