The Jerusalemite family of Elias Abu Sneina is living under an imminent threat to be forcibly displaced from their home by the Israeli occupation in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Ain Al-Lawza neighborhood in Silwan. 

Abu Sneina’s family lives with the fear that the Israeli occupation bulldozers might embark on demolishing their own home and commercial store in the Ain Al-Lawza neighborhood in Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque at any moment. 

Recently, the Israeli occupation municipality in occupied Jerusalem handed Abu Sneina a decision to demolish his 110-square-meter house and commercial store, under the pretext of building without a permit. Since then, family life turned into constant anxiety and fear of losing their only shelter and turning it into rubble.

Israeli occupation authorities handed  Elias Abu Sneina a demolition order for his shop, the family’s only source of income, a few days ago along with 6 other shops, claiming that they intended to expand Ain Al-Lawza Street to become 30 meters wide. In addition, he received another decision to demolish his house, which he built 21 years ago and shelters his family and children. 

283 homes belonging to Palestinians in the Ain al-Lawzeh neighborhood are under threat of demolition under the pretext of not having a building license said the Member of Silwan Land Defense Committee, Fakhri Abu Diab. 

Abu Diab pointed out that the Israeli occupation court had frozen orders to demolish 80 facilities before US President Joe Biden visited occupied Jerusalem last July and resumed the demolition again recently, aiming to displace Ain Al-Lawza residents and expel them from their homes and commercial facilities in order to implement their Judaization plans in the occupied Jerusalem.

Ain Al-Lawza residents’ concerns remain over the implementation of expropriation by Israeli occupation authorities as 20 Palestinian-owned homes in the neighborhood have effective demolition orders and their people might lose their only shelter at any moment and become homeless.