On Thursday, Israeli soldiers forced a Palestinian to demolish his shop in Silwan town, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied capital, Jerusalem, in the West Bank.
Media sources said the army invaded Silwan before forcing Nafez Zeitoun to demolish his shop.
The sources added that the Israeli authorities claimed the building was constructed with a permit from the City Council.
Nafez told the Wadi Hilweh Information Center In Silwan (Silwanic) that he had to borrow money to build his shop to support himself and his family due to the dire financial conditions.
He added that the army informed him that he must demolish his property and send the city council pictures proving the demolition was carried out.
He installed his shop using simple materials last Saturday, and the next day, he received the demolition order and was informed that he would have to pay excessive fines and fees, in addition to demolition costs, if the City Council used its workers and equipment in the destruction.
Nagez also said that, a year earlier, he was forced to demolish his home on the roof of his parent’s property.
Earlier Thursday, the Israeli occupation authorities handed demolition orders targeting three homes owned by Khaled Zeitoun, Jom’a Odah, and Shehda Qweider.
While Israel continues to build and expand its illegal colonies, Palestinian communities, and towns, in occupied Jerusalem, and various areas in the occupied West Bank, continue to be denied the right to build homes and property, under various allegations meant to prevent the expansion of Palestinian towns and neighborhoods.
All of Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory”.
