Israeli bulldozers demolish residential shed north of Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (WAFA) 5 Feb --Bulldozers of the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem demolished on Tuesday a residential shed in Al-Ashqariyeh area in Beit Hanina neighborhood, north of Jerusalem, under the pretext of "building without permit," according to the owner. Ibrahim al- Kiswani told WAFA that Israeli bulldozers, protected by Israeli police, entered the area at dawn, surrounded the house and gave the family of six members 10 minutes to evacuate the shed before demolishing it over its contents. Kiswani said he had paid more than $160,000 trying to obtain a permit for his 170-square-meter home, which houses him, his wife and his four children, whose ages fall between 8 to 12. Kiswani’s 10-year-old child said, “I am very sad because the Israeli forces destroyed our home where we grew up without giving us a chance to get out our stuff, clothes and computer, which we used for fun and school."
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Israel bulldozes West Bank homes: VIDEO

Al-Akhbar 5 Feb -- Israeli bulldozers on Tuesday demolished two West Bank homes under the pretext that they were built without permits, local media reported ... In the same neighborhood [Al-Ashqariyeh] later Tuesday, Israeli forces demolished a building housing 30 members of the Castero family. One of the residents, Mohammed Saleh Castero, said that the 420 square meter, two-story building included four apartments. He added that the family was given a 50-day demolition notice, and was unable to secure a permit in that time ... Roughly 94 percent of Palestinian applications for building permits are rejected, according to the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. The group estimates that Israeli authorities have demolished about 27,000 Palestinian structures in the West Bank since 1967. Ziad Hamouri, Director of the Jerusalem Center for Social and Human Rights, told WAFA that Jerusalem in particular is witnessing a “demographic war” by the occupation forces to make Palestinians a minority.
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Israeli municipality hands Jerusalem residents demolition order

JERUSALEM (WAFA)  4 Feb -- Crews from the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem Monday handed a number of residents in a building in al-Sawwanah neighborhood in East Jerusalem a demolishing notice, said witnesses. Chairman of the Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, and one of the residents told WAFA that Israeli authorities pasted demolishing notices at all the doors of all apartments, without specifying a date or a deadline, under the pretext of construction without obtaining a permit. Sabri said that the families living in the 16-storey building which houses about 80 individuals will be appointing a lawyer to represent the case against the Municipality’s arbitrary rule.
Meanwhile, Israeli police handed several residents in the town of Anata northeast of Jerusalem demolition notices of houses, stores, and cattle sheds. One of the town’s residents told WAFA that Israeli police raided the town and handed about 20 demolition notices under the pretext of construction without permits. The police gave the residents until February 19 to appeal the decision of the Municipality. Witnesses pointed out that the town has been witnessing land confiscation and homes demolition in order to build and expand illegal nearby settlements.
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