Israel to demolish 6 Palestinian buildings in Jerusalem

The Israeli municipality in Jerusalem plans to demolish six large buildings in occupied East Jerusalem, allegedly because they were built without the impossible to obtain planning permits.

Hundreds of Palestinians will be evacuated from the buildings in the neighbourhood of Kafr Aqab, in the north of the city, as a result of the demolition, Israel’s Channel 10 said.

“Army and police forces will use explosives to demolish buildings,” the channel reported.

Adnan Al-Husayni, the Palestinian minister of Jerusalem affairs, strongly criticised the Israeli plan to demolish the buildings.

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In an interview with Palestinian journalists Al-Husayni said: “The announcement of these demolitions comes in light of a plan to build 10,000 settlement units on the territory of the airport adjacent to the neighbourhood of Kafr Aqab.”

“The aim of this plan is to reduce the number of Palestinians in East Jerusalem and increase the settlers in the city,” he said.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and has been increasing the number of illegal settlements in the area with a view of annexing it and declaring the entire city its capital.