Israeli occupation destroys over 620 homes, facilities in Al Quds city
AL QUDS, June 25 (YPA) – The Israeli occupation authorities have destroyed a total of 623 homes and facilities across the Al Quds province since October 7, 2023, in a clear escalation that coincides with the ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip.
According to Al Quds province’s statement on Wednesday, the demolition list included residential homes, some of which have been inhabited for decades and others still under construction, as well as commercial and economic facilities that provide a source of livelihood for dozens of families in occupied city of Al Quds.
The statement added that Israeli bulldozers, under heavy protection from forces, demolished a house today in the town of Hizma, northeast of the city, as part of a systematic campaign targeting the Palestinian presence in the city.
It warned that the “self-demolition” policy, which the occupation authorities are forcing citizens to implement under threat of heavy fines or imprisonment, represents a systematic racist approach aimed at involving the victims in the crime, exhausting them psychologically and financially for leaving.
The statement noted that families affected by the demolition have paid exorbitant sums of money in fines and penalties over the years, which in some cases may exceed the cost of construction itself. Yet, the occupation authorities continue to deny them building permits or impose prohibitive conditions for obtaining them.
The province’s statement pointed out that the approval rate for licensing applications did not exceed 2%, given that Palestinians be permitted to build on no more than 13% of the area of occupied East Al Quds.
It considered the destruction and displacement being inflicted on Al Quds’ residents to be a crime of forced displacement that reach a war crime, calling for urgent and effective international action to hold the occupation accountable for its escalating violations, which are being committed in broad daylight and before the eyes of the world.
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