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Israeli authorities raid Silwan detaining 4, assaulting others, deliver demolition order

12:00 Jul 1 2016 Silwan

Israeli authorities raid Silwan detaining 4, assaulting others, deliver demolition order
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A view of Silwan neighborhood to the south of the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem. (MaanImages/Killian Redden/File)
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JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces raided the Silwan area of occupied East Jerusalem on Friday afternoon, detaining at least four residents, assaulting others, and delivered a demolition order against a Palestinian home the previous day.

Jawad Siyam of the Wadi Hilweh Information Center told Ma’an that Israeli forces were deployed heavily across Silwan, erecting checkpoints, and stopping Palestinian youth to check their ID cards.

During widespread searches, they detained Rafat Basbus and his brother Muhammad, and Musa Fataftah.

According to Siyam, Israeli forces led the Basbus brothers to Wadi Hilweh area in Silwan and assaulted them, which led to fist fights and then escalated to clashes during which Israeli forces used stun grenades and live fire against Palestinians.

Siyam added that Israeli forces also raided the house of Adnan al-Karki, assaulting his son Muhammad and detaining him before summoning his teenage brother Amir for investigation.

An Israeli police spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.

In a separate incident on Thursday, the municipality of Jerusalem delivered a demolition notice to the Bashir family in the al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan.

Fakhri Abu Diab, a member of the Committee for the Defense of Land and Real Estate in Silwan said that the Israeli authorities and municipality raided the al-Bustan neighborhood and hung a demolition notices on the house of Adel Bashir for lacking the proper license.

Abu Diab said that the decision gave the family ten days to evacuate the house in preparation for demolition.

He added that Bashir’s house was demolished in 2005 and was rebuilt several years later.

In 2009 the Jerusalem municipality announced its intention to demolish 88 homes in al-Bustan, to displace some 1,500 people.

Silwan is one of many Palestinian areas in occupied East Jerusalem that is seeing an influx of Israeli settlers at the cost of home demolitions and the eviction of Palestinian families.The area has also recently come under heightened presence of Israeli military forces.

Palestinians' ability to build homes or expand existing structures legally is severely limited by the Jerusalem municipality, and more than 3,000 Palestinian structures have been demolished since 1967, according the PLO Negotiations Affairs Department.

The raids came after it was announced Thursday that the Israeli police formed a new unit on to carry out detention across Jerusalem. Dozens of Palestinians have been detained since Wednesday.
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