On Sunday, Israeli occupation forces, accompanied by crews from the occupation municipality, stormed the Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, south of occupied Jerusalem.
According to the Jerusalem Governorate, soldiers entered the area to inspect the site where Palestinian resident Mohammad Khalaf Odah had been forced to demolish a room he had used as an accounting office.
The occupation authorities had previously pressured Odah to tear down the room, which had been standing since 2010.
Over the years, the municipality imposed fines amounting to 14,000 shekels before issuing a demolition order last Thursday.
The Jerusalem Governorate further reported that the municipality threatened Odah, warning that if he did not demolish the room himself, municipal crew would do so and charge him excessive fees for labor and equipment.
Israeli authorities routinely force Palestinians, especially in occupied Jerusalem, to destroy their own homes and structures under the claim that they lack proper permits. Those who refuse face demolition by Israeli bulldozers and are burdened with steep financial penalties.
The occupation municipality systematically denies Palestinians building permits, leaving them with no choice but to demolish their homes or have them forcibly destroyed by Israeli forces.
This practice violates international law and human rights conventions that protect the right to housing. It is part of a broader strategy aimed at displacing Palestinians from Jerusalem while expanding illegal settlements in and around the city.
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.
In related news, Israeli soldiers invaded the Palestinian town of ar-Ram, north of the, Jerusalem, searched cars, and forced shops to close.
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.”
