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Photo:
Scene. Published by Maan News
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JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- AUG. 7, 2018 5:02 P.M. (UPDATED: AUG. 7, 2018 5:28 P.M.)

Israeli bulldozers demolished three rooms and other structures in the neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukabbir in occupied East Jerusalem.

Locals told Ma'an that Israeli forces stormed the Jabal al-Mukabbir neighborhood and surrounded several Palestinian structures.

Sources added that the surrounded structures all belonged to the family of Abu Sukran.

Israeli forces closed off the area, in order for the demolition to begin; the demolition was carried out on the pretext of building without an Israeli permit.

Dirgham Abu Sukran said that Israeli bulldozers demolished three rooms and another three steel structures used for housing sheep.

Abu Sukran added that the structures have been built since 2011 and have not receive any prior notice concerning the demolition.

Meanwhile, in the same neighborhood, a Palestinian resident, Bassam Ubeidat, continued the process of demolishing his own home following a decision from the Israeli municipality.

Shawkat Ubeidat, Bassam's brother, explained that the demolition by Ubeidat himself continues due to a decision by the Israeli municipality to impose a fine of 60,000 shekels ($16,188) if the municipality carried out the demolition instead.

Ubeidat also mentioned that the nearly-demolished home was built already a year-and-a-half ago and was ready to be resided.

In Area C, the more than 60 percent of the West Bank under full Israeli security and civilian control, Palestinian construction and land management is prohibited unless through consent or authorization by the Israeli Civil Administration.

Construction licenses are very expensive and difficult to obtain for Palestinians, notably in the Jerusalem area, in a bid by Israeli authorities to force Palestinians out and change the demographic balance of the city.

Only 14 percent of East Jerusalem land is zoned for Palestinian residential construction, while one-third of Palestinian land has been confiscated since 1967 to build illegal Jewish-only settlements, according to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI).