News / Palestine

Israel orders halt to mosque construction in al-Quds, forces family to demolish house

Monday, 03 January 2022 4:22 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 03 January 2022 4:35 PM ]

Israeli soldiers are seen at a mosque construction site in al-Issawiya neighborhood of East al-Quds, January 3, 2022. (Photo by Palestinian media)

Israeli authorities have ordered work on a mosque still in construction stage in the Issawiya neighborhood of East al-Quds to be stopped as the regime's troops force a Palestinian family to demolish their own house.

Israeli soldiers forced their way into the neighborhood to stop construction of al-Taqwa Mosque, Palestine's official Wafa news agency reported on Monday.

Demolition of mosques by Israelis is commonplace across the Palestinian land. Israeli settlers, backed by the military, routinely intrude into the al-Aqsa mosque and provoke clashes with Palestinian worshipers.

The Palestinian Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs has time and again condemned the regime over the matter, describing the move as a “clear attack on the holy sites and religious places for Muslims.”

Palestine slams planned US-Israeli desecration of Muslim cemetery in al-Quds

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemns a planned ceremony at a cemetery in the occupied al-Quds, saying the event organized by American Zionist groups desecrates the historic Muslim graveyard and violates international law.

Separately, Palestinian media, citing local sources, reported that Israeli authorities left the Palestinian Dabash family with no choice but to totally knock down their home in the Sur Baher neighborhood of East al-Quds. The family spent about five days in the demolition process using hand tools, the report added. It was because of the unreasonable demolition cost of approximately 8,000 dollars the family had to pay the Israeli municipality.

Israel claims the structures it demolishes have been built without construction permits, which are almost impossible to obtain. They also sometimes order Palestinian owners to demolish their own houses or pay the demolition costs.

The Tel Aviv regime plans to force out Palestinian families from different neighborhoods in East al-Quds in an attempt to replace them with settlers.

The United Nations has reported a 21-percent increase in the number of Palestinian structures that were confiscated or destroyed this year.

Nearly 700,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements built since the 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds. The UN Security Council has in several resolutions condemned Tel Aviv’s settlement projects in the occupied Palestinian lands.