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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Palestinians demolish homes in East Jerusalem al-Quds not to see settlers move in |
| 2018-07-20 |
| [PRESSTV] Two Paleostinian families have demolished their homes in a village on the outskirts of the Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds, saying they would rather destroy them than face the prospect of Israeli settlers moving in. Locals said the two families watched as bulldozers demolished their four homes in the Beit Hanina neighborhood on Thursday while friends and neighbors watched on a hillside as dust rose into the air. Witnesses said that two mechanical diggers smashed through the ceilings, walls and floors of the two buildings for two hours in the area. Jihad Shawamreh, 50, a taxi driver, said that he built his six-room house in 2000 and that his ex-wife Fawzia, their six children and other relatives lived there until Thursday. The families argued they had bought the plots in good faith and believed they were the rightful owners. "I built (my house) with my own hands. It is where I brought up my children. This is where they grew up," Shawamreh said, adding, "We took down the houses for fear of seeing settlers move in and having to see them inside the house." Shawamreh said the demolition cost $8,200 and that he had turned down offers of money from Israeli settlers to leave the buildings standing. Shawamreh's neighbor Zeinat Abu Rumeileh, 62, cried as she sat beside the other demolished home in a tent that she said had been provided by the Paleostinian Authority. "I am not able to watch," she said, weeping into a handkerchief, adding, "I was afraid, of course, but we didn't think that this would happen or even come close to happening." |
| Posted by:Fred |