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Israel demolishes 20 illegal Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem

Xinhua, July 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli authorities demolished 20 illegal structures in Palestinian villages in annexed East Jerusalem overnight between Monday and Tuesday, the municipality said.

Border police guards and municipality inspectors took part in the demolition of the houses in Kalandia and Issawiya, Palestinian villages in East Jerusalem, a spokesperson for the Jerusalem municipality told Xinhua.

According to the spokesperson, Israeli authorities issued warrants for the demolition of the structures as they were unlicensed.

Whereas Israel Radio reported the houses were in their final stages of their construction and were not populated, Palestinian media reported some of the homes were housed by families.

Local clashes erupted between Israeli forces and local residents during the demolition, causing no injuries or damage.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, home to more than 300,000 Palestinians nowadays, in the 1967 Mideast War, along with the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Golan Heights territories.

The state annexed the east Jerusalem territories in 1981, in a move deemed illegal by the international community. It had also authorized throughout the years the construction of homes in Jewish neighborhoods in these areas, deemed illegal settlements by the Palestinians and the international community.

Palestinians living in East Jerusalem areas suffer from poor infrastructure and inadequate services.

About 82 percent of the Palestinians in East Jerusalem live in poverty in densely-populated neighborhoods, according to a recent report by the Jerusalem Institute, an Israeli research center.

They rarely receive approvals by the municipality to build new structures, creating a severe housing problem for them.

Over the last decades, East Jerusalem has grown with no official master plan or outline, which led to a widespread phenomenon of illegal building. The municipality estimates there are about 20,000 unauthorized residential units and public buildings.

However, an Israeli planning body approved in April a plan to built 2,200 housing units for Palestinians in East Jerusalem. The new neighborhood, called Arab al-Sawahra, would mark the largest construction project for Palestinian families in East Jerusalem since it was captured by Israel.

Earlier this month, Israeli leaders announced 240 housing units would be built in Ramot, Har Homa and Pisgat Ze'ev, all Jewish settlement neighborhoods in annexed East Jerusalem.

The announcement was coupled with another statement on the construction of 600 housing units in Beit Safafa, a Palestinian village in East Jerusalem.

Settlers and right wing parties in Israel have fiercely opposed the construction plans for East Jerusalem Palestinians, calling authorities to withhold them. Endit