Video| ‘Israel’ forces Palestinian family to self-demolish house in occupied Jerusalem

Occupied Jerusalem (QNN)- Israeli occupation authorities have forced a Palestinian family to self-demolish its own house in Jabal al-Mukabber village south of the occupied city of Jerusalem earlier on Sunday.

At the order of the Israeli occupation municipality, the family of Ali Khalil Shqeirat has self-demolished its house in Jabal al-Mukabber to avoid paying a fine in exorbitant demolition costs to the Israeli municipality (the staff and the police) if it carries out the demolition.

Khalil Shqiarat, a Palestinian citizen of Jabal al-Mukabbir neighborhood in occupied #Jerusalem, was forced today to demolish his own house at the order of the Israeli municipality. pic.twitter.com/GB6kVr8ayw

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 25, 2021

The family were seen emptying the contents of their homes in preparation for the demolition.

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 the occupation government built tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in occupied East 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 its citizens into the occupied Jerusalem neighborhoods since the 1980s. This has resulted in numerous human rights violations, including the forced eviction and displacement of Palestinian residents.

Hundreds of Palestinian families are being threatened with evictions and house demolitions from their homes 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 East Jerusalem. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

The Israeli court had previously rejected many appeals filed by the residents of Jerusalem, and allowed “Ateret Cohanim” to continue its procedures relevant to the immediate expelling of the Palestinian families.

Ateret Cohanim, a settler organization, has been seeking, with the support of Israeli occupation authorities, to forcibly evict some Palestinian families in Silwan, claiming the land is rightfully owned by a Jewish trust active in the area more than 100 years ago.