Authorities tear down East Jerusalem apartment complex after years-long legal battle

Authorities tore down a four-floor apartment building in Silwan before dawn Monday following a years-long legal battle over the property, sparking a brawl between municipal workers and Palestinian residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood.

The building — which housed a total of 90 people in 13 apartment units — was the largest residential structure to be demolished in the city this year, according to Ir Amim, a left-wing organization based in Jerusalem.

Authorities didn’t give prior notice before arriving at 4 a.m. to destroy the illegally constructed building, which residents had been struggling to retroactively legalize for over a decade.

According to residents and activists, the Jerusalem municipality had been in ongoing talks regarding a proposal to regulate the structure before the demolition took place. The municipality rejected the claim.

A fight broke out between residents and municipal personnel who came to assist in the evictions. In footage from the scene, a crowd of men in neon-green work vests could seen encircling and fighting with one of the residents, a man in a black coat.

The fight was dispersed by police officers, who accompanied municipal authorities to “maintain public order” during the demolition, a police spokesman said.

Officers arrested two people during the brawl, named by the Arab48 news outlet as Yasser Abu Sneineh and Amer Abu Khateb.

תראו את הטרלול הכהניסטי הבא: הבוקר החלה הריסת בתי הפלסטינים הגדולה ביותר עד כה בירושלים המזרחית, בשכונת סילוואן. אבל הפשע של הרס בתי עשרות המשפחות לא הספיק להם לבדו, אז הם גם שלחו עשרות נערים כהניסטים-מתנחלים ביחד עם כוחות ההריסה של הממשלה. הנה התוצאה לפניכם:

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