More than 100 Palestinian families in East Jerusalem are in immediate danger of having their homes demolished after the Jerusalem municipality hardened its stance on master plans for the area. A large clinic and hundreds of other buildings are also at risk of demolition in the near future.
There are currently some 20,000 illegal buildings in East Jerusalem, and demolition orders have been issued against thousands of them. Most were built illegally because the city’s Palestinian neighborhoods have no master plans that would enable legal construction.
Residents have therefore tried to prevent the demolitions by proposing their own master plans, which include the legalization of existing buildings. Negotiations with the city over these plans have gone on for years.