Israel razes seven houses in East Jerusalem

Israeli forces demolished on Wednesday seven Palestinian housing units in East Jerusalem, Palestinian sources and an Israeli human rights watchdog said.

Ir Amim, a Jerusalem-based rights group, said that in Silwan, a neighborhood across from the Old City, the forces demolished a two-story building that included four distinct residential units.

The building, belonging to the extended Jaafreh family, was built 17 years ago but the municipality refused to give it a permit, saying it was constructed on a land designated as a "green space."

"Thirty family members were displaced, half under the age of 18," Ir Amim said in a statement.

In the neighborhood of Beit Hanina, a three-unit home was destroyed.

Nasser al-Rajabi, the owner of one of the units, told the Palestinian news agency Ma'an that Israeli forces demolished his home under the pretext that the structure lacked the necessary Israeli-issued permits.

He said it was the second time the home was demolished. He has been trying to obtain a construction permit for over two years, Ma'an reported.

Six members of the Rajabi family, including four under the age of 18 -- one of whom is physically challenged -- lost their home. Another six members of the Siyam family, who lived in another unit, were displaced, including three children under the age of 18.

A spokesperson for the Jerusalem Municipality was not immediately available to comment on the demolitions.

The recent demolitions bring the annual total number of housing units to 166, including 112 residential units, according to Ir Amim. The figures represent a sharp increase in the number of demolitions, which counted 74 in 2015.

The demolitions come amidst a growing number of incidents in which Jewish settlers took over homes in Palestinian neighborhoods in the Old City and Historic Basin.

"More than 100 Palestinian families in the Historic Basin are at risk of eviction, most concentrated in Silwan, where the Ateret Cohanim, a settler organization, is forwarding a systematic campaign to seize the entire neighborhood and forcibly remove an estimated 600 residents," Ir Amim said.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, together with the rest of the West Bank, in the 1976 Mideast War. It later annexed it, claiming it as part of its "undivided" capital, in a move condemned by the international community.

Some 312,000 Palestinians live in East Jerusalem, according to data recently presented to the Israeli parliament. The vast majority of them live in poverty, with little access to health, education, and municipal services. Endit