Israeli occupation forces destroy commercial building in Jerusalem

Israeli occupation forces destroyed a Palestinian-owned commercial building in the French Hill district of occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday, Quds Press has reported. The building was occupied by Harhash Car Exhibition, whose staff were evacuated before the demolition took place. This is the third time that the building has been destroyed by the Israelis.

The facility covers an area of around one dunam (a quarter of an acre) and it was built by the Harhash family in 2006; a building licence was obtained in 2008. Local sources said that the Israeli-run municipality has been trying to seize the land since 2012 in order to build a car park for illegal settlers who visit the French Hill Park. The park is in one of the most attractive and expensive areas in occupied East Jerusalem.

On 19 December last year, the Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished part of the Harhash building. In February, the building was demolished for the second time under the pretext of it being an “unlicensed” construction.

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