A Palestinian man living in occupied East Jerusalem has destroyed his own house after receiving a demolition order from the Israeli authorities. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Sultan Bashir received the demolition order last month for his 50-square-metre house in the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Jebel Al Mukaber. The reason given was the residence’s proximity to the US embassy in West Jerusalem. US President Donald Trump relocated the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May last year to uproar across the Arab world. He decided to demolish his own home because of the expensive fees that Palestinians have to pay if the Jerusalem municipality demolishes it themselves. The Israeli authorities charge hefty fees in a bid to make Palestinians either raze their own residence, or to collect charges from them.
— source thenational.ae | Oct 23, 2019