The three-story home, built in 2001, was initially never thought by the owner to be under threat as most Palestinian homes built in al-Quds are constructed without permit. The reason for this is that Israeli authorities would make it virtually impossible for Palestinians living in the city to obtain any permits at all even after paying for them. So Palestinians are forced to either live on the streets, flee the country or build without a permit.
Ibrahim stated that he paid a lawyer, Sami al-Sheikh between $50,000 and $60,000 in order to appeal the Israeli decision to recognize his home as illegal. He stated that the lawyer attempted four times to have the decision appealed, all of which were instantly rejected.
Ibrahim then said, “I was shocked when they informed me yesterday that my home had to be demolished within one day…I attempted to plead with them for a few weeks, but they rejected my attempts.”
In the end, Ibrahim was handed over another decision to pay for bulldozers, which he was to organize himself, to destroy his home or to allow Israeli regime bulldozers to do it by force.
He decided to do it himself as he was informed that if the Israeli authorities were to destroy his home, he would have to pay them up to NIS 250,000 ($73,000).
His home has now been reduced to rubble and his children were left crying over the rubble. This is especially hard for his children to accept, having spent their whole lives growing up in the former residence.