A Palestinian resident of occupied East Jerusalem was forced today by the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem to demolish his own house in Isawiyya neighborhood under the pretext it was built without a permit.
Thayer Obeid, the house owner, told WAFA that the municipality forced him to tear down his 100-square-meter house because otherwise he would be forced to pay high costs if the demolition was carried out by the municipality staff.
“I demolished my house to avoid the heavy demolition fines and costs that will be imposed by the occupation authorities in the event the demolition was done by them, which may reach 300,000 shekels ($90,000),” he said.
He said that he received the demolition order three months ago but that he has been trying in court to change that without any success until he was forced to demolish it with his own hands.
“This is the second time the occupiers deny my family that includes three children from building a house to shelter us after another house we built in Jericho was also demolished under the pretext of construction without a permit,” said Obeid.
Palestinians in East Jerusalem are rarely granted building permits from the Israeli municipality, which discriminates against them in order to keep a Jewish majority living in illegal settlements built in the occupied city.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency