The Israeli occupation municipality in East Jerusalem Tuesday handed notifications to Palestinians in the Arab neighborhood of Silwan to appear before its inspectors for not implementing 2018 orders to self-demolish their own homes.
Member of the Silwan committee to defend the land Fakhri Abu Diab warned in a statement that 17 homes will be demolished in the Al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan, south of occupied Jerusalem, by the end of July.
He said that 98 homeowners had received demolition notices, including the 17 for immediate destruction, under a law that bars appeal in Israeli courts before the end of next month.
Diab called on the international community to help counter the occupation authority’s “vicious attack” on the neighborhood, and its attempt to tighten its control over Jerusalem.
Some 1,550 Palestinians live in Al-Bustan quarter in the centre of Silwan, which is adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
For the past years, the occupation authority has been trying to demolish hundreds of Arab-owned homes in Al-Bustan to turn it into a “biblical garden” as part of its Judaization scheme in Jerusalem.
Dozens of Palestinian families are also threatened with forced eviction from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, another East Jerusalem neighbourhood, which spurred an international outcry.
Source: Jordan News Agency