On Wednesday, Israeli occupation authorities forced a Jerusalem resident to demolish his home in the Wadi al-Rababa neighborhood of Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in the occupied Palestinian capital.
Resident Shadi Samreen reported that the occupation municipality ordered him to demolish his home under the pretext of “building without a permit,” prompting him to carry out the demolition himself to avoid the exorbitant costs imposed by the municipality if its machinery were to do the job.
Samreen explained that he has lived in the house since 2014 with his wife and three children.
The occupation authorities in occupied Jerusalem compel residents to demolish their homes themselves under the pretext of lacking permits. Those who refuse to demolish their own homes face hefty fines, additional fees, and potential imprisonment.
Moreover, the occupation municipality in Jerusalem refrains from granting building permits to residents, forcing them to demolish their homes or face demolition.
This practice violates international laws and human rights conventions that guarantee the right to housing. It is part of the occupation’s systematic efforts to forcibly displace Palestinians from Jerusalem while expanding settlements in and around the city.
In related news, the army demolished a shed and a barn in Mikhmas village, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, in addition to destroying a street.
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.”
