The Israeli occupation authorities forced 6 Palestinian families to demolish their homes in the city of Jerusalem, resulting in the displacement of 33 individuals.
The Jerusalem Governorate said – in a statement – that the Israeli occupation authorities “forced the Awaida family in the town of Silwan in occupied Jerusalem to carry out a forced self-demolition of their residential building that has been standing for 50 years, in order to avoid paying heavy fines from the occupation authorities.”
According to the governorate, the building consists of 6 residential units with areas ranging from 40 to 60 square metres, explaining that “the forced demolition led to the displacement of 33 individuals, including children, in addition to the imposition of a fine of 120,000 shekels (about 33,000 dollars) on the family.”
6 houses turned into rubble in moments…
The occupation forces the Aweida family to forcibly demolish their homes in the town of Silwan in occupied Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/mznmOVqpXq
– Quds News Network (@qudsn) January 5, 2025
The Palestinians of Jerusalem are forced to demolish their homes with their own hands, to avoid paying heavy fines imposed on them by the occupation municipality if its vehicles carry out the demolition.
According to a report by the Jerusalem Governorate, the occupation authorities carried out 439 demolition operations in Jerusalem since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023 until the end of 2024.
Most demolitions in Jerusalem are carried out under the pretext of building without a permit. According to United Nations reports, “the restrictive and discriminatory planning system makes it next to impossible for Palestinians in Jerusalem to obtain building permits required by Israel.”
It says that “at least a third of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem lack building permits issued by Israel, which exposes more than 100,000 Palestinian residents of the city to the risk of displacement.”
