Originally published in
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Israeli bulldozers Wednesday morning demolished Palestinian structures in the area between Abu Dis and As-Sawahira Ash-Sharqiya town, southeast of Jerusalem, said witnesses.
Local witnesses confirmed that Israeli forces escorted a bulldozer into the area, where they heavy machinery demolished a shack, under construction buildings, besides to several shops, all owned by local residents.
Israeli military bulldozers also demolished the wall surrounding Abu Dis University’s playground.
Israel demolishes Palestinian houses and structures almost on a daily basis as a means to achieve “demographic control” of the occupied territories.
Israel denies planning permits for Palestinians to build on their own land or to extend existing houses to accommodate natural growth, particularly in Jerusalem and Area C, which constitutes 60 percent of the occupied West Bank and falls under full Israeli military rule, forcing residents to build without obtaining rarely-granted permits to provide shelters for their families.
In contrast, Israel argues that building within existing colonial settlements is necessary to accommodate the “natural growth” of settlers. Therefore, it much more easily gives the estimated 550,000 Jewish Israeli settlers there building permits and provides them with roads, electricity, water and sewage systems that remain inaccessible to many neighboring Palestinians.
