A Palestinian citizen from the occupied Al-Quds neighborhood of Silwan embarked on Friday on tearing down his own home after he was forced to do so by the Israeli municipality of West Al-Quds to avoid paying exorbitant costs if the municipality carries out the demolition on its own.

He said he had no choice but to demolish the home to avoid paying unreasonable demolition costs to the Israeli municipality.
Palestinians in Al-Quds frequently find themselves with no choice but to build without a permit because getting a building permit is impossible as the right-wing all-Israeli city council attempts to keep the city’s Palestinian population at a bare minimum while multiplying its Jewish residents.
Almost 75 percent of applications for a permit by the Palestinian citizens of Al-Quds are rejected by the municipality, forcing many households to build without obtaining a permit and risk their homes being demolished, according to rights groups.