Early Sunday morning, Israeli occupation authorities compelled two Palestinian families in the occupied capital, Jerusalem, located in the West Bank, to carry out the demolition of their own homes under threat of heavy penalties and imprisonment.
According to the Jerusalem Governorate, the Israeli-controlled municipality forced the Al-Qara’in family to execute a coerced self-demolition of their home in the Al-Farouq neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukabber, in order to avoid exorbitant fines and the deployment of occupation bulldozers.
The governorate also reported that six housing units were reduced to rubble after the Halawani family was forced to demolish their residential building under municipal pressure in Beit Hanina, north of Jerusalem. The demolition left approximately 30 individuals homeless, including children.
Last Tuesday afternoon, Israeli occupation authorities forced Palestinian citizen Sobhiyya Shqeirat to carry out the self-demolition of her home in the Jabal al-Mukaber.
In a statistic released last month, the governorate stated that since the onset of Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, occupation forces have destroyed a total of 623 homes and structures across the Jerusalem Governorate.
These include long-inhabited residences, buildings under construction, and essential commercial and economic establishments that serve as the sole source of income for dozens of Palestinian families.
Since the beginning of this year, Israeli occupation authorities have demolished 994 Palestinian structures, including at least 320 homes, displacing more than 1,357 Palestinians—among them 641 children and 341 women.
In related news, the soldiers invaded Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, searched and ransacked several homes before abducting a young man, Nasser Jamal Bzea’.
