A Palestinian family from Umm Tuba village, southeast of occupied East Jerusalem, was forced to demolish its home after repeated appeals failed to save their home.
Ibrahim Abu Teir said he and his family had to remove all their furniture and belongings from the property before demolishing the 90 square meters home.
Abu Teir added that the decision to self-demolish the property wasn’t lightly made but would spare the family further penalties, excessive fines and fees, and demolition costs if the City Council in occupied Jerusalem demolished the home using its workers and equipment.
Ibrahim’s wife is pregnant, and the family eagerly awaits their twins’ birth after a long wait in the home they built on their land fifteen years ago.
Abu Teir had been paying fines for many years. He had already paid about 250.000 Shekels despite all legal efforts to license the building under existing law retroactively.
Still, the City Council refused and informed the family they needed to demolish the building or pay the high fines, fees, and demolition costs.
Aziz Abu Teir, a senior social figure in the village, told the Wadi Hilweh Information Center In Silwan (Silwanic) that the Israeli government and the City Council in occupied Jerusalem are run by fanatics who practice apartheid and discrimination against the Palestinians while continuing to construct and expand the illegal, segregated Israeli colonies violating International Law.
Aziz added that Umm Tuba is just a small village near the approved Industrial Zone in the eastern part of the village and has already received permits to develop some streets and license existing homes, but the Israeli policies all aim at removing the Palestinians from their homes and lands to replace them with illegal segregated colonies.
