On Sunday, Israeli authorities forced a Palestinian citizen to demolish his own home in the town of Beit Hanina, north of occupied Jerusalem, on the pretext of building without a permit, despite fining him 60,000 shekels (approximately $16,000). This came according to a statement issued by the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate, which confirmed that the 60-square-meter house has been standing for 15 years and is inhabited by citizen Fawaz Al-Rajabi, his wife, and their five children.
The Governorate noted that Al-Rajabi was forced to demolish his home himself to avoid the high demolition costs imposed by the Jerusalem Municipality of the occupation, and to prevent damage to his son's house in case occupation machinery carried out the demolition. It pointed out that forcing occupation authorities to demolish Al-Rajabi's home after he received a demolition order came despite fining him financial violations worth 60,000 shekels.
For her part, Palestinian rights organizations stated that Israeli authorities impose strict restrictions on issuing building permits to Palestinians in East Jerusalem, which drives some to build without permits and exposes their homes to the risk of demolition. Israeli authorities force Palestinians in East Jerusalem to demolish their homes by hand to avoid the high demolition costs imposed by the municipality if the process is carried out by machinery.
In the same context, a report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics issued in October of this year, citing the "Wall and Settlement Resistance Authority," stated that occupation authorities carried out 341 demolition operations in the first half of 2026. The report clarified that the demolition operations affected 740 Palestinian facilities, including occupied residential units, units under construction, commercial and agricultural facilities, and sources of livelihood, with field justifications being dominated by claims of building without a permit.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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