The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Tuesday demolished a three-story building owned by the Rajabi family in annexed east Jerusalem on Tuesday, leaving 40 people, the majority of them children, homeless.
The three-story building in the Silwan neighborhood was demolished on the pretext that its owners did not obtain the required permits.
As per media reports, the Israeli police thrashed the family members to force them to leave the building.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Ambulance Society, its crews dealt with “five injuries of beatings by the occupation forces, including the injury of a journalist” during the demolition.
The family members stopped a short distance away, looking at an Israeli bulldozer demolishing the house, chanting Takbeer and anti-occupation slogans, while the women broke down in tears.
It is reported that the building contained five apartments before it was demolished, leaving family members without shelter, at a time when the municipality or the Israeli police did not officially comment on the demolition.
Condemnation and demand for sanctions
For its part, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the demolition and demanded the imposition of sanctions on Israel to force it to stop its violations. The ministry said in a statement that it condemns in the strongest terms the heinous crime committed by the occupation forces, and considered it a war crime and a crime against humanity.
The Israeli municipality had imposed a fine on the family before it officially informed them last year of the demolition decision.
The building is located among dozens of other Palestinian homes that are threatened with demolition in Silwan due to unauthorized construction.
The Israeli occupation continues to demolish Palestinian homes and property in the occupied territories under the pretext that they were built without a license, which the occupying power itself places obstacles in front of it.
This operation is carried out with the aim of expelling the Palestinians from their lands so that they could be seized.
