The Palestinian Ministry of Information issued a report stating that Israel leveled more than 23.000 homes in the occupied territories since its occupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in the 1967 six-day war.The Israeli Authorities leveled more than 700 homes and buildings owned by the Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Demolishing Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem witnessed a significant increase in 2009 as Israel leveled 103 Palestinian homes, while 89 homes were leveled in 2008.
23 out of the 103 homes leveled in Jerusalem in 2009 were demolished by their Palestinian owners who were forced to level them in order to avoid the high fines and expenses imposed by Israel should the Jerusalem municipality demolish the homes.
600 residents, half of them children, were rendered homeless in 2009 due to the illegal Israeli policies in Jerusalem.
Israel also issued orders against 1500 Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem in 2009.
The so-called Absentee Property Department occupied 200 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem and handed most of them to settler organizations.
