Thread by @amnestyusa

What is the toll of home demolition? This family’s story will stick with you. Mohammed Al-Rajabi is a resident of Al-Bustan area in Silwan, a village on the outskirts of the Old City of Jerusalem, which became part of annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. 🧵 amnestyusa.org/endapartheid

For decades, Silwan has been the target of home demolitions under Israel’s discriminatory policies relating to planning and building (eg. denying building permits to Palestinians), and the construction of illegal settlements.

Mohammed had lived in his home for just two months when it was demolished by Israeli authorities in June 2020, because it was built without a permit. He described to Amnesty International the devastating effects of the demolition on his family:

“I lived in the house for 2 months before it was demolished. I mean we were dealing with a pandemic spreading, and normally these things take time but with us it went down really quick. They had court orders to demolish my house within weeks of me starting to construct my house.

“And since my house was in the middle of a crowded area and impossible to demolish with a bulldozer they used a machine saw to cut my house in half… anything to make it uninhabitable. I know that this could have been avoided if I’d got a building permit, but it’s impossible.

“This could not have been avoided; it’s as if it’s been designed this way and there is no exit. My house was going to be demolished in all cases, no matter what I do. The municipality is asking me to pay them for the demolition also.

“They need NIS 100,000 [USD 32,258] to cover the expenses of my demolition. They even said that the cost is this high because it took more manpower to accomplish than regular demolitions with machinery and bulldozers.

“This is extremely hard to deal with. It might be difficult to put into words… and I sensed that it was harder on my kids than on us. They were really excited for us to have this new home.

“I’m going to keep the photos from that day and show them to my children when they grow up, so they do not forget what happened to us. I will tell them:

“‘You see what kind of memories I have to pass on to you?’” My plan was for them to have a warm family home close to their loved ones and family members. Now I’m passing on the memories of their first childhood home being destroyed.”