A Palestinian citizen was forced, on Saturday, to demolish a section of his home in the Jabal al-Mokabber neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, after Israeli authorities ordered its destruction, under the pretext of building without a license.
Rajai Hussein began knocking down the 40-square-meter addition to his home, which was built five years ago, in order to avoid paying excessive fees the municipality would charge him if its crews carried out the demolition.
Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, are often compelled to build without an Israeli issued license, since the Israeli authorities usually deny their applications.
According to the latest Protection of Civilians Report from the United Nation Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; between August 8 – 21, “four structures were demolished in East Jerusalem, resulting in the displacement of two households, comprising nine people, including three children. Two of the demolished structures in East Jerusalem were destroyed by their owners to avoid the payment of fines to the Israeli authorities.”
