Two Palestinian families in occupied East Jerusalem demolished their own homes on Sunday to avoid steep municipal fines. The properties were located in the town of Jabal Al-Mukaber southeast of the Old City.
Brothers Jihad and Luay Shuqairat carried out the self-demolitions following an order from Israeli authorities. They faced fines of roughly 200,000 shekels, or about $62,000, for lacking building permits. They had already paid 14,000 shekels of that total, according to the Palestine News Agency.
The brothers faced an additional 120,000 shekels in costs. This penalty would have been enforced if municipal forces carried out the demolitions themselves, covering the expenses of machinery and security personnel.
Jabal Al-Mukaber is one of the larger towns in East Jerusalem. The demolitions have left multiple people without shelter. Jihad shared his home with his wife and daughter, while Luay lived with his parents and brother.
The Jerusalem Governorate reported that the demolition order extended beyond the two houses. It also targeted a storage room belonging to the Shuqairat family, a separate warehouse, a horse stable, and facilities used for raising birds and livestock.
Palestinians living in East Jerusalem frequently struggle to obtain municipal building permits from Israeli authorities. At the same time, Israel continues to expand Jewish settlements across East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in June 1967. Since then, authorities have maintained a military-run regime governing both security and civilian affairs for the Palestinian population.
