The Israeli municipality Monday issued demolition orders against 13 inhabited Palestinian houses in the Silwan neighborhood under the pretext of building without a permit.

Fakhri Abu Diab, a member of the Silwan Defense Committee, told SAFA that the Israeli municipality, protected by the police, raided the Silwan neighborhood and handed over 13 demolition orders.

Abu Diab pointed out that the houses were built over 10 years ago and are inhabited by 70-80 Palestinians, mostly children.

He added that the municipality refuses to grant constructing permits to Jerusalemites, and to issue organizational plans for the neighborhoods of Jerusalem, specifically the town of Silwan, stressing that this is a systematic policy pursued by the Israeli authorities against the people of Jerusalem.

Moreover, he stated that the Jerusalemites' need for construction and fear of displacement and housing outside the city, which would lose their Jerusalem identity, forces them to build without a permit.

He emphasized that the Israeli authorities follow this policy to isolate the Jerusalem neighborhoods from each other, to strengthen their control over the land, and to force the residents to leave.