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Wake Up Palestine – Silwan’s Resilience

How a town in Jerusalem faces Israeli demolition orders.

Jerusalem24 – Wake Up Palestine – On the morning of June 29th, around 40 armored vehicles and a bulldozer belonging to the Israeli forces entered the alBustan neighborhood in Silwan, in Jerusalem. The neighborhood has several demolition orders against the homes of the families there. Israel wishes to build a religious park on the location of the neighborhood. The deadline was over two days ago, and the demolition began. After closing down the entrances to the neighborhood, the Israeli forces surrounded a shop belonging to the alJabari family and began demolishing it. As residents of the neighborhood answered the call from the local mosque to protest the demolition, the Israeli forces intercepted them. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, four people were injured. One person had to be transferred to a hospital for treatment after getting shot with a rubber coated bullet to the chest. A journalist was also wounded when a tear gas canister struck him causing a burn. In addition to that, the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem also demolished an apartment in the Sweih neighborhood in Silwan.

The night before the episode, Israeli forces suppressed a sit-in protesting the demolitions in the neighborhood. You can read it here.

In this episode of Wake Up Palestine, Mohammad Hamayel speaks with Dr. Amani Mousa Odeh, a resident of the alBustan neighborhood that is threatened with demolition, a member of the Save Silwan campaign as well as the Neighborhood Defense Committee.

Mohammad Hamayel

Ramallah based journalist, Mohammad graduated from Al-Quds University with a B.A. in Media and Television. He has covered the 2015 Jerusalem Intifada as well as the Great March of Return for international media outlets. currently an editor/presenter at Jerusalem24. A UN alumni and a follower of global events and politics, especially American affairs.

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