Israel forces Palestinian to demolish own shop in Jerusalem, raids West Bank cities

Israeli authorities on Thursday forced a Palestinian man to demolish his own store in East Jerusalem, Palestinian security sources said. 

The sources told The New Arab that Jamal Ali demolished his 150-square meter shop, which was still under construction, by himself after the Israeli municipality claimed that he was building his store without getting an Israeli permit.

Ali decided to carry out the demolition himself to avoid paying fines and prohibitive demolition fees set by the municipality.

For many years, dozens of people have been forced to demolish their own properties in East Jerusalem as Israeli occupation authorities seek to make way for the extension of a national park. 

Human rights organizations have released numerous reports over the years showing that Israeli authorities seldom issue building permits to Palestinian residents, despite the extremely overcrowded living conditions in occupied Jerusalem.

Many Palestinian families take the risk of building without permits, knowing their houses could be demolished in the future. 

According to the United Nations, one-third of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem do not have a building permit. As a result, over 100,000 people living in these buildings are at risk of being displaced.

Also on Thursday, Israeli forces carried out raids in various parts of the West Bank, wounding a Palestinian man in the city of Tubas in the north of the occupied territory, according to Palestinian medical sources. 

The medical sources said that the wounded person was transferred to the hospital, describing his health condition as stable. 

Israeli forces regularly raid homes in the occupied West Bank on the pretext of searching for "wanted" Palestinians.

The heavy-handed operations, which are conducted without search warrants, often lead to clashes with residents.