Israel increasing its policy of forcing Jerusalemites to demolish their homes, rights group warns

The Islamic-Christian Committee in Support of Jerusalem and its Sanctuaries has warned that Israel is escalating its policy of forced demolition of the homes of Palestinians in Jerusalem.

In a statement issued yesterday, the committee said there has been an unprecedented acceleration in the number of Jerusalemites who have been forced to demolish their homes since the start of the year, noting that dozens of homes and facilities have been demolished by the Israeli authorities or by their owners under the pretext that they have not obtaining building permits.

It added that this is often used as a means through which the Israeli occupation works to empty the city of Palestinians and create an imbalance in the demographic balance in favour of the Israeli presence.

It stressed that the acceleration of the demolition of Jerusalemites’ homes coincides with the escalation in the pace of new illegal settlement projects and the construction of thousands of colonial units in various neighbourhoods of the city of Jerusalem, and the intensification of attempts to “Judaise” the city which target its Islamic and Christian sanctities.

The committee called on the international community to break its silence and intervene effectively and seriously to stop the genocidal war, forced displacement, and ethnic cleansing to which the Palestinian people are subjected, and to take effective measures to deter the occupation from continuing to commit these crimes.

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