On April 06, 2016, Al-Seidawi family self-demolished part of their residence in the Jerusalem town of Beit Hanina, after the targeted part was previously notified of demolition on the claim "unlicensed construction".
Citizen Shereen Seidawi told Land Research Center the following:
" My husband bought this residence in 2013. The 120m2 house was built in 1967, meaning before the occupation itself existed. The house was divided into two parts; one for me and my two daughters and the other one is for my mother in law and my husband's second wife. After the division, I had to annex two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom all with a total of 40m2. One room was built by cement and the other by wood and aluminum slaps. At time, we didn’t apply for building permits from the occupation's municipality because it never grants them for Jerusalemites. The reason I annexed the new rooms is that I got triplets after 14 years of not having kids".
She added:
" In 2015, construction works on Rami Levi commercial complex started in the area. The Israeli occupation municipality then started to target the area's structures with demolition. It is when we received a demolition order on the new room on the claim of unlicensed construction. We immediately sought attorney Awni Yaghmour to delay the demolition but the municipality issued a final demolition order on the house on January 12, 2016 with a deadline until April 12, 2016".
" In the morning of April 06, 2016 and while my husband was out, a force from Israel Police accompanied by a dozer arrived at the location of my house. The force made me sign on a paper that turned out to be demolition fees of 70,000 NIS. I feared that the municipality would charge the demolition on us, so I asked some guys to come and bring the rooms down. This happened after I got the officer's approval. At time of demolition, I fainted , fell on the ground and broke my teeth. Now, my kids and I are back to the small part of the house".
Photo 1: citizen Shereen Al-Seidawi
Photo 2: the residence after demolition
Photo 3: Rami Levi commercial complex
The occupation has been working on targeting the Palestinian building in Beit Hanina for the favor of establishing Rami Levi complex. It is an occupational policy to take over Palestinian properties to serve the good of colonists and colonization as well.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
