Silwan – A Jerusalemite self-demolishes his home
The occupation municipality forced Ahmed Jalajel to self-demolish his house in the town of Silwan.
Jalajel said that the municipality issued a final demolition decision for his house, which was built 8 years ago in the Al-Bustan neighborhood, after paying the "demolition fine", and gave him 21 days to implement the decision.
Jalajel said that the house is 140 square meters in area, and 4 people live in it.
Jalajel was forced to carry out the demolition to avoid paying the demolition fee to the municipality, its crews, and the accompanying forces.
The occupation municipality escalated the demolition operations in the Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan during the year 2024.
In 2004, the occupation municipality decided to demolish the entire Al-Bustan neighborhood to implement the "King's Garden" plan on its ruins, and in 2005 it began distributing demolition notices and warnings. After international pressure and the movement of local and international human rights organizations, and a diplomatic movement, the demolition decisions were frozen.
The residents, through teams of engineers and lawyers, began to submit master plans to organize and develop the neighborhood, open streets, and allocate sites for infrastructure and public facilities such as schools and playgrounds. In March 2021, the residents were surprised by the decision of the occupation municipality to reject the engineering plans for the Al-Bustan neighborhood, and not to extend the freeze on decisions to demolish the neighborhood’s homes. Consequently, the municipality renounced all agreements with the relevant authorities and follow-up on the plans.
