Israel orders Jerusalemite to demolish his house

Israeli occupation authorities today forced a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem to demolish the extension at his home, Jordan’s Assabeel newspaper reported.

The house, which is owned by the Siyam family, is located in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan, the newspaper said.

The extension, which consisted of three rooms, was ordered to be demolished over claims it was built without the necessary – and impossible to obtain for Palestinians – licenses.

The owner of the house, Nasser Siyam, said that the house was built over more than 90 years and the extension became necessary due to the expansion of the family.

He said that the Israeli municipality in the city refused to issue the needed licenses and said it would force the family to pay high fines, up to 150,000 shekels ($42,830), if they did not demolish the extension themselves.

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