Occupied Jerusalem, ALRAY - In a distressing incident on Tuesday, Israeli occupation municipality bulldozers demolished a house owned by Jerusalemite resident Fatima Totah in Wadi Al-Joz, located in occupied Jerusalem. The demolition was carried out under the pretext that the land was deemed "agricultural" and unsuitable for construction.

According to Jabr Totah, Fatima's son, the family was taken by surprise when Israeli forces surrounded their house while he was at work and his mother was at the doctor's. No prior warning was given. Jabr explained that neighbors alerted him about the impending demolition, prompting him to rush to the scene with his mother. However, Israeli occupation forces prevented him from reaching the site, allowing only his mother to open the house's door. She was subsequently evicted from the premises and barred from returning until the demolition was complete.

Disturbingly, journalists were also prevented by the Israeli occupation forces from approaching the site to cover the demolition, effectively suppressing media coverage of the incident.

Jabr reported that municipality employees removed a small portion of the house's contents before proceeding with the demolition, resulting in the destruction of most of the belongings. He further revealed that a court session had taken place, granting his mother a 21-day deadline to remove the remaining contents. Despite submitting an appeal requesting an extension of the demolition process for two months, the appeal was rejected.

Fatima Totah, a Jerusalemite who suffers from multiple illnesses, had resided in the house with her late husband for 25 years. In addition to her son Jabr, his wife, and their five children, including a child with special needs, lived in the house. The family consists of the eldest child, aged 10, and the youngest, aged 3.

The demolished house spanned an area of 120 square meters and comprised three rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Additionally, Israeli occupation bulldozers razed a horse stable adjacent to the house. The stable, which had been present for many years and belonged to a young man named Arafat Totah, covered an area of approximately 50 square meters.

This is not the first instance of such demolitions in the area. In March of last year, the Israeli municipality also demolished three houses owned by the Totah brothers, Hani, Yahya, and Arafat. These houses were home to 30 individuals and were demolished using the same pretext.

Jabr disclosed that he had made several requests to the Jerusalem municipality in an attempt to obtain a license for the house. However, all his requests were denied, despite the fact that the land is owned by his mother.