The Israeli High court of Justice froze a demolishing order against the homes of al-Bustan neighborhood near Jerusalem’s old city on Wednesday.The court ordered the Israeli municipality to halt demolition orders against 22 homes for one year. al-Bustan neighborhood, home to 1500 Palestinians, fight in the courts started back in 2005 when the Israeli municipality ordered all 22 home owners there to demolish it because they do not have building permission.
The Israeli municipality claim that al-Bustan neighborhood is built on the King David gardens; residents say they have deeds owning their lands that date back to before the creation of Israel.
Al-Bustan residents managed to draw a planning structure for their neighborhood on their expense and submit it to the municipality for approval. The plan cost the residents about 100,000 USD, sources told PNN.
The Israeli municipality rarely gives Palestinians of Jerusalem permissions to build homes or renovate old ones. The process takes from 10 to 20 years and costs up to 25,000 USD, in some cases this is twice the cost of building the house itself.
