The Israeli occupation authorities on Saturday forced the al-Dalal family to demolish three houses in the Ashqariya neighborhood in Beit Hanina in occupied Jerusalem, under the pretext of building without a permit.

The occupation municipality targets thousands of Palestinian families in all villages and towns in the city of Jerusalem and seeks to displace their members by handing them demolition orders under the pretext of building without permits.

Subhi Al-Dalal, the father of the homeowners, said that demolitions in Beit Hanina are repeated weekly, and hardly a week goes by demolishing one or two homes, most of which are in the hands of their owners, who are forced to, so that they do not incur the high demolition costs imposed by the occupation authorities.

He pointed out that these houses belong to his two sons, and they are inhabited by 13 people, most of whom are children.

Al-Dalal explained that one of the houses was built nearly 22 years ago, and during these long years they hired a lawyer to defend the family against the demolition, during which they paid heavy fines and violations, and amid an attempt to license the buildings, but the occupation authorities refused, amid impossible conditions.

He stressed that the occupation forced them to demolish the house, as the occupation authorities gave them self-demolition order within a week, or that the occupation implements the demolition and imposes all demolition costs on the family in a large way, indicating that his children are now homeless looking for shelter and a rental apartment to accommodate them and their children.

Al-Dalal stressed that the occupation is adopting a policy of restricting displacement against the people of the town and the people of Jerusalem and putting pressure on the Jerusalemites to leave.

Since the first moments of their occupation of Jerusalem in 1967, the Israeli occupation authorities have pursued an aggressive and racist policy towards the Palestinians of Jerusalem, to tighten control over the city of Jerusalem, Judaize it, and tightening the noose around its original inhabitants through a series of arbitrary decisions and measures that affected all aspects of the daily life of Jerusalemites.

By doing so, the occupation authorities aim to limit and reduce the Palestinian population presence in the city, as they have established a coercive system that restricts the granting of building permits, and subjected them to a tight bureaucratic and functional ladder, so that it takes years before it reaches its final stages.

At a time when the Israeli occupation authorities demolish Palestinian homes and put obstacles and obstacles in the way of issuing building permits to Palestinians, these authorities approve building permits for thousands of housing units in settlements built on Jerusalem lands.

Source : Safa