Israel begins demolition, razes home

A photographer witnessed a Palestinian family removing its belongings from the house in East Jerusalem’s Beit Hanina neighbourhood before an Israeli excavator tore into the dwelling. Israel’s Jerusalem municipality said the home was built without a city permit.

The demolition seemed certain to draw a new wave of international criticism of Israeli policy towards Palestinians in East Jerusalem, an area captured in a 1967 war and annexed by Israel. The dwelling was razed a week after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with US President Barack Obama to patch up relations strained by Israeli settlement policy in East Jerusalem.