Arab News | Israeli authorities demolish house in Shefa-Amr amid rising Arab home demolitions

LONDON: Israeli authorities on Monday demolished a house in Shefa-Amr, an Arab-majority city in Israel, citing building without a permit.

The demolition was carried out in the Al-Kasara neighborhood, where six other houses are under threat of demolition, according to the Palestine News Agency.

The house belonged to Safiya Hajirat, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, and is home to four family members. The house covers about 140 sq. meters and sits on a 200 sq. meter plot, local outlet Arab48 reported.

Arab citizens number about 1.6 million people in Israel, representing 20 percent of the population. Two Arab political parties won a record-breaking 19 seats in last month’s Israeli elections out of the Knesset’s 120 members.

Home demolitions have risen across Arab towns, including Ibillin, Kabul, Deir Al-Asad and Umm Al-Fahm, as well as in the southern Negev region in the south, over the past two months.

Last month, authorities demolished three homes in Umm Numaila and structures in Abu Quraynat, two villages that Israel does not recognize, located near the city of Rahat in the Negev. The Israeli government identifies about 40 villages in the Negev as “unrecognized,” claiming that about 55,000 Bedouins cannot prove land ownership. Residents face significant challenges because they lack electricity, water, transportation and public services.