Israeli occupation authorities today forced a Palestinian to demolish his own house in the neighborhood of al-Isawiya in occupied Jerusalem, under the pretext of unlicensed building, according to local sources.

Raja'e Atiyeh, a citizen of al-Isawiya, embarked on tearing down his own house in the neighborhood to avoid paying exorbitant costs if the Jerusalem municipality carries out the demolition on its own.

Using the pretext of illegal building, Israel demolishes houses on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem.

At the same time, the municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal Jewish-only settlements in East Jerusalem for with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish settlers in the occupied city.