Description

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian family in occupied East Jerusalem demolished its own home on Saturday in order to avoid the Israeli municipality's demolition.

The house, which totaled 100 square meters, was built in 1998 in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of East Jerusalem, and had been housing Abeer al-Rajabi, her husband, and six children, aged six to 18 years old.

Abeer's father, Elias, told Ma'an that the Israeli authorities had delivered several demolition orders in recent years, with the final order issued in April.

The order gave the family until Oct. 24 to execute the demolition, after which point they would be charged 60,000 shekels ($15,430) in demolition expenses.

The family attempted to secure the necessary permits, but the Jerusalem municipality refused, claiming that structure had been built too close to the street.

Elias al-Rajabi said that the municipality has also imposed a fine of 250,000 shekels ($64,290) on the family for building the house.
Israeli government policies make it nearly impossible for Palestinian residents to obtain building permits, according to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.

As of September this year, 29 Palestinian homes have been demolished in occupied East Jerusalem, leaving 29 Palestinians homeless, according to Israeli rights group B'Tselem.

Nearly 579 homes have been destroyed over the last twelve years, leaving 2,133 Palestinians homeless in total, the group reports.