Israel demolishes another Palestinian house in Jerusalem

Israel has bulldozed the home of Ameen Showaiki in Beit Hanina neighbourhood of occupied Jerusalem. Witnesses said that the army bulldozers arrived at 4am. Soldiers broke into the house and forced the sleeping residents to leave before the demolition began. They were unable to remove any personal belongings, which were crushed under the rubble of the house.

Although neighbours tried to intervene, they were unable to stop the Israelis from carrying out the terms of the demolition order. Israel claims that the house was built illegally as it did not get the required planning permit.

According to relatives, the owner of the house has been imprisoned by the Israeli occupation authorities “several times” and fined for breaking some of the severe restrictions placed by Israel on Palestinian residents of the occupied city.

Palestinians who need to build or extend their homes, in their own city, are rarely, if ever, given the formal permit to do so. If they go ahead regardless, their homes are usually destroyed by the Israeli occupation forces.