Israeli police have ordered Khalid al-Zir, a resident of Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem, to remove a tent which he and other Jerusalem residents had set up the night before in front of the Red Cross headquarters, in Sheikh Jarrah, to protest Israeli demolition of homes in the city.According to the Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA), Zir said that the tent was put up to draw attention to the plight of Jerusalem residents whose homes were demolished by the West Jerusalem Israeli municipality for building without a permit, after efforts to get such a permit have failed.
The municipality demolished Zir’s small Silwan home in August and, when he attempted to set up a structure with a metal roof on his land, to house his seven-member family, it was also demolished.
Zir then moved with his family, to live in a cave, but the Israeli antiquities authority ordered him not to change anything in the cave, after he attempted to add to it in order to shelter his family from cold and rain.
Israeli police raided the tent Thursday morning and ordered the people holding a vigil inside to remove it within 30 minutes or be fined.
