On Tuesday, Israeli occupation authorities compelled a Palestinian resident of Al-Tur, a neighborhood east of the occupied Palestinian capital, Jerusalem, in the West Bank to demolish his own home under the pretext of building without a permit.
The Jerusalem Governorate stated that Nasser Yousef Abu Rmeileh was forced to carry out the demolition himself to avoid exorbitant fines and fees that would have been imposed had Israeli bulldozers done the job.
The home, which measured 110 square meters and housed seven family members, had stood for 21 years.
With its destruction, the family has now lost their only shelter, another casualty of Israel’s systematic policy aimed at erasing Palestinian presence in occupied Jerusalem.
Israeli authorities routinely deny Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem the right to build legally, while expanding illegal the illegal colonies. Families who refuse to demolish their homes face forced demolition by Israeli crews and are billed for the cost, often amounting to tens of thousands of shekels, in addition to abduction and imprisonment.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned this practice as a form of coercive displacement and collective punishment, in violation of international law.
The forced self-demolition of Palestinian homes is part of a broader strategy to fragment Palestinian communities and entrench Israeli control over the city.
