‘Israel’ carried out 20 demolition operations of Palestinian structures in Jerusalem in February

Occupied Jerusalem (QNN)- Israeli occupation authorities carried out 20 demolition operations of Palestinian houses and structures in the occupied city of Jerusalem, 6 of them were forcibly carried out by its owners, in February 2022.

According to Al-Qastal, a Palestinian network hub for Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, Israeli occupation authorities carried out 20 demolition operations of Palestinian houses and structures in the occupied city of Jerusalem, last month.

8 of the 20 operations were carried out by its owners, as the Palestinian residents were forced to self-demolish their houses or structures at the order of the Israeli occupation municipality to avoid paying an exorbitant fine for the demolition costs to the Israeli municipality (the staff and the police) if it carried out the demolition.

The demolition operations were carried out in several areas across occupied Jerusalem, including Jabal al-Mukabber, Beit Hanina, Silwan, Sur Baher, Shuafat, Anata, al-Isawiyya and al-Ram town.

Under the pretext of building without a permit, rarely, if ever, issued for Palestinians by the occupation authorities, ‘Israel’ demolishes houses and structures on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem.

At the same time, the Israeli occupation municipality and the occupation government built tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in the eastern part of occupied Jerusalem for Jews with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favour of the Israeli settlers in the occupied city.

‘Israel’ has been moving settlers into the occupied Jerusalem neighbourhoods since the 1980s. This has resulted in numerous human rights violations, including the forced displacement of Palestinian residents and home demolitions.

Hundreds of Palestinian families are being threatened with forced displacement and house demolitions by illegal settler groups, fully supported by the Israeli government.

There are nearly 700,000 Israeli settlers living in 256 illegal settlements and outposts scattered across the occupied West Bank, including the eastern part of occupied Jerusalem. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

In 2021, the Israeli forces demolished approximately 950 Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, according to statistics by the Land Research Centre.