18 Aug 2020; MEMO: Israeli soldiers have demolished a Palestinian residential building that was under construction, located in Jabal Al-Mukabber in the as-Sal’a neighbourhood, because it allegedly lacked the necessary construction permit, reports Wafa news agency.
Palestinians are rarely granted building permits by Israel, especially in occupied East Jerusalem.
According to local eyewitnesses, Israeli army jeeps and vehicles, accompanied by three bulldozers, raided the neighbourhood this morning and destroyed the six-story building.
They added that the building is owned by a local Palestinian, identified as Aziz Jamil Ja’abis, who was prevented from accessing the building and forced to leave.
The raid sparked confrontations from Palestinian residents with Israeli forces firing live and rubber-coated metal bullets at local youths who attempted to block their path, resulting in a Palestinian being shot and critically injured.
Mohammad Ja‘abis, in his twenties, was shot by an Israeli soldier and rushed to Al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem, where he was expected to undergo surgery, however witnesses confirmed that Israeli soldiers were surrounding the hospital in order to detain Ja‘abis.
Occupied East Jerusalem is located in what the Oslo Accords designated as ‘Area C,’ which falls under full Israeli military and administrative control. As a result the occupation state regularly issues demolition orders to Palestinians in the area, both those who have built homes to house their expanding families and those that have existed for decades.
Israel’s widely practiced policies of home demolitions targeting entire families are acts of illegal collective punishment and come in direct violation of International Human Rights Law.
