Another Palestinian in Old Jerusalem forced by Israeli troops to demolish own home
by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News
Muhammad Najib Al-Ju’ba, who has lived with his family for generations on Virgin Street near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, was forced by Israeli troops to demolish his own home this weekend, making the third home demolished in this way this week alone.
Home demolished in Jerusalem (Ma'an Images)
Israeli demolition orders in Jerusalem have increased exponentially since Binyamin Netanyahu, a right-wing Israeli leader who campaigned on 'no compromise' with the Palestinians, came to power in March.
The military allegedly acted on orders from the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem (there are currently two Jerusalem municipalities – one Israeli, one Palestinian, but only the Israeli one has armed enforcement agents and a military).
Al-Juba was told that he must demolish his home or pay 13,000 Israeli shekels to the Israeli Jerusalem Municipal government. The reason given was the extra room that Al-Juba had constructed to accommodate his growing family.
90% of Israeli home demolitions of Palestinian homes are 'administrative demolitions', in which Palestinians are told that they do not have a permit or are in a 'closed military zone' and therefore their homes must be demolished. Extremely few permits have been issued (less than 1% of applicants) to Palestinians since 1967, when Israeli forces took over East Jerusalem and the rest of historic Palestine (now known as the West Bank and Gaza Strip). The other 10% are punitive demolitions, in which Israeli forces demolish the home of family members of a Palestinian known to have attacked Israeli civilians or soldiers.
The area around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is particularly contentious, as Israel has made public its plans to completely take over this section of the Old City, as well as East Jerusalem, in a flagrant violation of signed agreements and international law.
