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Occupied Jerusalem -
On Wednesday morning, the Israeli occupation demolished the home of a researcher specializing in settlement affairs and a local activist in the town of Silwan in Jerusalem, which the researcher saw as an intended message preceding further demolition.
Researcher Fakhri Abu Diab, spokesman for the Silwan Lands and Real Estate Defense Committee, told Al Jazeera Net that he was surprised by the Israeli occupation municipality and a large number of occupation soldiers storming his house in the morning with police dogs.
He added that the raid was "violent and severe, and we were taken out of the house at the same time as the area was besieged and the demolition bulldozer entered."
He pointed out that he has lived in the house for more than 38 years. “They do not give us building permits. The occupation municipality just wants to demolish the houses.”
Abu Diab stated that there is “a plan to demolish all the houses in the Silwan neighborhood,” explaining, “They started with my house as an activist and spokesman for the people of Silwan, so they wanted to remove one of the obstacles that hinder the demolition of the houses as a message to the rest of the residents.”
He said that the occupation is exploiting the war on the Gaza Strip to carry out "collective punishment against the Palestinians and the people of Jerusalem, specifically targeting homes close to Al-Aqsa Mosque to empty its surroundings."
The researcher Al-Maqdisi continued that the occupation "can demolish homes, but it cannot demolish our morale, our bond, and our steadfastness in our lands."
He ended his speech by further clinging to his presence in Jerusalem, saying, "This is the rubble of the house. We will live in tents and we will remain in this land. The occupation will disappear, and my grandchildren are happy to rebuild what was demolished."
Source: Al Jazeera