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JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities demolished a complex of sheep barns in an East Jerusalem neighborhood on Tuesday morning, a local rights group said.

Bulldozers tore down the 700-square-meter steel buildings belonging to Aziz Jamil Jaabees in the al-Salaa neighborhood in Jabal al-Mukabbir, the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights said.

The family of 10 was ordered to pay a 50,000 shekel ($12,800) demolition fee, the center added, noting that 20 tons of barley were also destroyed in the incident.

Jaabees told the group his family had already paid 30,000 shekels ($7,720) for a lawyer to prevent the demolition.

The animal shelters were the only source of income for five households, the center added.

Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti warned in May that a spate of recent demolition orders were part of Israel's "race against time" to Judaize Jerusalem by imposing facts on the ground.

On Monday, the Israeli Interior Ministry approved the building of a tourist center in East Jerusalem, sparking outrage among residents who say it will lead to more forced evictions of Palestinian homes and exert Israeli control over the area.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the rest of the world.

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by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Palestinian sources reported that Israeli soldiers demolished, on Tuesday at dawn, a Palestinian building in Beit Hanina neighborhood, north of occupied East Jerusalem. The army also demolished sheds and structures In Jabal Al-Mokabbir.

The Jerusalem Municipality sent bulldozers accompanied by several Israeli military jeeps to demolish the building that has been recently built, and was in its final stages of interior design.

In related news, soldiers bulldozed 700 meters of hothouses and stables in As-Sal’a area, in Jabal Al-Mokabbir, south of occupied East Jerusalem. The structures belong to Aziz Jamil Ja’bees.

Ja’bees stated that the attack took place around 7:30 in the morning and that the soldiers removed the livestock from the stables and spilled approximately 30 Tons of barley.

The Jerusalem Municipality also imposed a 50.000 NIS fine on Ja’bees, and informed him that he must remove the rubble on his own expense.

The resident paid more than 30.000 NIS in legal expenses while trying to save his property but to no avail.

The recent destruction of Palestinian property is the latest on ongoing and systematic polices targeting Palestinian homes and property in occupied East Jerusalem.

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