Jerusalem24 –The Israeli authorities, today, delivered a demolition order against a Palestinian building in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shufat that would displace 55 people if demolished.
Nasser Abu Khdeir, a local activist, said that Israeli intelligence officers informed the Palestinian owners of a 4-story residential building of the imminent intention to tear down the building and allowed the occupants only two weeks to evacuate it.
He pointed that the building, constructed in 2003, is located in the western part of the neighborhood and just 200 meters away from the encroaching Israeli colonial settlement of Ramat Shlomo, and houses over 10 Palestinian families comprising some 55 people.
Using the excuse of illegal building, Israel demolishes houses on a regular basis to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem.
At the same time, the municipality and government build tens of thousands of housing units in illegal settlements in East Jerusalem for Jews with a goal to offset the demographic balance in favor of the Jewish settlers in the occupied city.