Israel’s Jerusalem Municipality yesterday forced Palestinian resident Ahmed Kawazbeh to demolish his home in the suburb of Al-Ashqariyeh in Beit Hanina, Safa news agency reported.

Occupation authorities said Kawazbeh had built the property without the nearly impossible to obtain building permits.
The Palestinian said he had reached a “dead end” with the occupation’s municipality and was forced to demolish his home. He had been handed a demolition order two months ago after living in the property for ten years on land that he owns.
Kawazbeh said he applied for a license, but it was refused and the municipality asked him to pay a fine of 36,000 shekel ($10,000). “But this did not protect my house from being demolished,” he said.
The father of six said that the municipality asked him to evacuate his house and pay 40,000 shekels ($11,150) to the municipality to send forces to demolish the property.
“As I am unemployed and do not have enough money, I was forced to demolish it myself in order to save the high costs,” he said.
However, he stressed that he would never leave the land which he owns. “However I am surrounded with skyscrapers built for Jewish settlers, I will erect a tent and live with my family in it,” he said, “I have no other place to live in and I will never give up a grain of sand from the land of Jerusalem.”