Israeli bulldozers on Tuesday demolished a five-storey residential building in annexed east Jerusalem which was home to about 70 people, in a move the local Palestinian authority said was aimed at "forcible transfer". Densely populated east Jerusalem faces a severe housing crisis, with thousands of homes built without permits, which its Palestinian residents say are near impossible to obtain from Israeli authorities. Israel regularly carries out demolitions of what it says are illegal structures built by Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. More than 360,000 Palestinians live in east Jerusalem as well as some 230,000 Israelis. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
