Two residents of Jerusalem have been forced to demolish their own homes following Israeli orders, amid continuing raids and settler attacks in the occupied West Bank.
Rami al-Bakri, a resident of Beit Hanina north of occupied Jerusalem, had received a demolition order for his 35 square metre-home on al-Zaytouna Street two weeks prior from Israeli authorities.
To avoid paying a hefty fine if the municipality were to carry out the demolition, al-Bakri was forced to carry out the process himself to destroy the home in which he and his wife lived for eight years.
Al-Bakri had previously paid fines estimated at about 40,000 shekels (US$13,000) to cover additional costs in addition to lawyers’ fees and payments for licensing procedures.
Another resident of the Jerusalem Governorate, Samer Alyan Arar, was likewise required to dismantle his house in Jabal al-Mukabber, southeast of Jerusalem.
On 26 January, Israeli soldiers raided his home and gave him three weeks to implement the demolition order or face a penalty for the municipality’s own work to destroy the house.
Israel claimed the building had been built without a permit despite the house existing since 2018 and housing seven people over an area of 80 square metres.
Arar already faced two penalties issued by Israeli authorities in 2014 when he had submitted planning maps for construction at the request of the municipality. He now faces an additional fine worth about 100,000 shekels (US$32,350).
Israel often claims that its demolition orders are due to a lack of building permits but human rights groups say that these are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain.
West Bank incursions continuing
The two demolitions coincided with raids by Israeli forces across the occupied West Bank, resulting in multiple injuries, arrests, and damage to property.
At dawn on Saturday, Israeli forces stormed Balata east of Nablus and deployed multiple soldiers to several of the refugee camp’s neighbourhoods, local sources told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
Multiple families were forced to evacuate their homes, according to the residents. Israeli forces also caused an explosion at the local headquarters of the Fatah movement.
Israeli forces also raided multiple locations in the Nablus and Bethlehem Governorates overnight, including the Dheisheh refugee camp, detaining dozens of Palestinians.
A young man was shot and sustained injuries in his thigh after confrontations broke out between residents and Israeli soldiers in the town of Tuqu’, southeast of Bethlehem, on Friday night.
Separately, the Palestinian Red Crescent said a 59-year-old man was hospitalized after being shot in the foot with live ammunition near the so-called separation wall in Dar Salah, east of Bethlehem.
Settler attacks also continued overnight, with a group of Israelis piercing the tires of more than 10 trucks and vehicles belonging to Palestinians in the town of Sur Baher, southeast of Jerusalem.
Multiple acres of Palestinian land were fenced off by Israeli settlers northeast of Ramallah at dawn on Saturday, under the protection of Israeli soldiers.
Settlers also destroyed olive trees in the southern area of al-Mughayyir on Friday evening.
Three residents from the Dabbabseh family in Khirbet Khallat al-Dab, in the Masafer Yatta area, had to receive medical treatment after being assaulted by settlers, according to al-Baidar Human Rights Organisation.
Following the incident, Israeli soldiers stormed homes of neighbouring Khirbet al-Halawah.