Palestinian al-Burqan preferred to tear down his own house in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem after a court ruled it was built’ illegally and must be demolished.
The 35-year-old was given’ two options:
destroy his four-bedroom home in the Jabbal Makabir neighborhood on his own or
let the city council do it and then send him a bill.
Israeli authorities regularly raid
Palestinian-built homes in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank on their
own territory if they lack an Israeli building permit.
The grip is that such permits are
"practically impossible" and result in a prolonged housing shortage,
according to a UN study.
"I applied to City Hall for a
building permit, but without success," Burqan told AFP.
"I spent about 75,000 shekels
(22,000, 18,700 euros) on legal fees and a land survey," he said.
Ben Avrahami an adviser to city officials
in East Jerusalem, said every issue is dealt with’ strictly in accordance with
the law.
"The demolition is being carried out
under an Israeli court order and is subject to careful legal scrutiny," he
said.
Burqan, the father of four, however, said
that when he hired a bulldozer, he was afraid to tear down his house right in
front of his eyes.
He said he invested all his savings in the
building, borrowed 800,000 shekels and worked for four years.
The court, which ruled the structure
illegal because it was built’ without permission, imposed a fine of 60,000
shekels for the crime.
He now lives with his family in a house he
rents out for 2,800 shekels a month.
Standing in the rubble of his former home,
he described "how difficult it is to demolish (the house) with your own
hands."
- 'Psychological effects' -
According to City Hall, 44 houses have
been demolished’ in East Jerusalem since the beginning of the year.
Some owners prefer to demolish their own
homes to avoid paying the city's demolition staff thousands of shekels at
times.
Since the six-day war in 1967, there have
been about 300,000 Palestinians and 200,000 Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem.
Palestinians allege that the real purpose
of the authoritarian government is to evacuate its Palestinian inhabitants.
The United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report in April 2019 that
a "restrictive plan by Israel to obtain building permits for Palestinians
in East Jerusalem is practical." Makes it impossible. "
He added: "At least one-third of all
Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem do not have a building permit issued by
Israel, leaving more than 100,000 residents at risk of being displaced.
The OCHA says only 13 percent of East
Jerusalem has been designated for Palestinian construction, most of which has
already been built, while 35 percent has been earmarked for Israeli
settlements, in accordance with international law. Are illegal.
According to Ziad Hamouri, director of the
Jerusalem Center for Economic and Social Rights, suicides are
"humiliating" in addition to the heavy financial costs and have a
"significant psychological impact" on their families.
But many Palestinians still prefer to
demolish their property for fear of arrest if they cannot pay the city's
demolition bill or fine.
- Lack of housing.
On July 2, the Shalida family also
demolished their home, a two-bed apartment in A-Tur.
"It's very difficult, a dream has
been ruined," lamented Sarah Shalalda, a mother of six.
"We were going to move on. We didn't
have to pay any more rent."
According to the OCHA, 65 children were
displaced’ by suicide in East Jerusalem in the first six months of the year and
85 others were affected’ in various ways.
Mahmoud Zhaik of the Jerusalem Housing
Union said Palestinians were short of 30,000 to 40,000 housing units, rents
were high and building permits were expensive.
"The average rent is $ 800 and a
building permit for an apartment can cost 000 50,000," he added.
"Only 20% get a residence permit, and
the process can take up to five years."
Avrahami says the city issues about 250
building permits to Palestinians each year.
Burqan had hoped to be among the lucky
ones, but his hopes were, dashed.
"They don't want us to stop," he
said, referring to Israel.
"But we are not moving."
READ MORE
0 Comments