The municipality of Jerusalem distributed to Palestinian residents in the city’s Isawiyeh neighborhood copies of 12 demolition orders under the pretext that the homes were built without permits.
A municipal official warned that if residents refused to demolish their homes, the municipality will do it and they will have to cover the costs.
The official was accompanied by a large police unit and occupation border guard soldiers. Employees distributed notices to the residents, and photographed neighborhoods, the buildings intended for demolition and about 50 other structures in the area.
Member of a local follow-up committee Mohammad Abu al-Hummus said the owners of the other photographed buildings are concerned their homes will be demolished at a later stage.
Abu al-Homs added that the copies of the 12 orders were distributed to the residents of buildings and homes, most of which are inhabited, and the oldest of which is 25-years-old. One of the buildings marked for demolition is made of two stories and had been standing for nearly three years.
The occupation’s municipality warned Isawiyeh residents that it will demolish the homes for “building them without a license.”
He asserted that the residents tried to apply for the licenses and submitted formal requests attached with a copy of the neighborhood's structural map. But the former occupation mayor, Nir Barakat, who was elected as a Likud Party lawmaker, rejected the structural map.
Abu al-Homs considered the demolition orders as part of the attacks and abuse against Palestinian residents, aiming to pressure them until they leave the neighborhood in preparation to fully executing the judaization plans of Jerusalem.
