Ahmad Jaradat – alternative Information Center – Palestine
It was noted that the policy of demolishing houses and uprooting trees witnessed a serious escalation
during the month of June in terms of the number of houses demolished and the uprooting of trees. It
was also noted that most of Jerusalem's neighborhoods have been subjected to these violations.
Because of the large financial fines financial fines imposed by the occupation municipality on the
citizens whose homes were targeted for demolition, many citizens demolished their homes to avoid
paying these fines to the municipality in return for demolishing it, a phenomenon known as (self-
demolition).
During this month, twenty houses were demolished in various suburbs of Jerusalem, eight of which
were self-demolished by their owners in order to avoid paying large sums of money to the Jerusalem
Municipality if it carried out the demolition.
In the town of Silwan in Jerusalem, the occupation municipality demolished the house of the Shweiki
family at the beginning of the month. The municipality also demolished a house belonging to the
families of Burqan and Nassar in the town, and a two-storey house belonging to the Bahjat al-Taweel
family in the Abbasiya neighborhood in the same town. In Wadi al-Joz neighborhood, the municipality
demolished a house and a barracks belonging to the Totah family.
In the northern neighborhoods of Jerusalem, the occupation authorities, using bulldozers, uprooted 100
olive trees and demolished retaining walls while constructing settlement roads in the town of Hizma. In
Beit Hanina, north of Jerusalem, the municipality forced Nasri al-Rajabi, a Jerusalemite, to demolish his
house. Also in Shuafat, north of Jerusalem, the municipality demolished a wall belonging to the Alqam
family.
In the town of Umm Tuba, south of Jerusalem, on the twenty-second of June, 50 olive trees were
uprooted and 15 beehives belonging to Jamal Abu Tair were destroyed.
From the aforementioned, we notice an escalation of demolitions in Jerusalem during the month of
June, in a large and dangerous way. The journalist and writer concerned with Jerusalem affairs, Rasem
Obeidat, stated that "the escalation of home demolitions in Jerusalem comes within the framework of
the systematic Israeli policy and under the extremist government of Israel, where many of its ministers
call for intensifying repression against the Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem." He added, "This old-new
policy comes in The framework of the policy of displacing Palestinians from the city in order to expand
settlement outposts in the city.
Escalation in house demolitions in Jerusalem during June
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