Jerusalem – Ma’an – The Israeli municipality’s bulldozers demolished a commercial facility in the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
The occupation forces, accompanied by municipal crews and vehicles, stormed the “Industrial Zone” neighborhood in Wadi al-Joz in the city, and surrounded a commercial facility “a shop selling and filling medical oxygen” and closed its entire surroundings, then began the process of demolishing it.
Today’s demolition is the fifth carried out in the industrial zone in Wadi al-Joz neighborhood. At the end of last August, 4 commercial and residential shops were demolished, and today a facility, while dozens of commercial and industrial facilities in the area are threatened with demolition, to implement and build the “Silicon Valley” project on the ruins of facilities, some of which existed before the occupation of Jerusalem, and support hundreds of Palestinian families and are their only source of income. It is also the only industrial zone in East Jerusalem.
In 202
0, the occupation municipality began pursuing the owners of facilities in the industrial zone with demolition decisions and summonses to the municipality. Since then, the residents have been waging a struggle in the Israeli courts to protect the properties from demolition, while the Central Court rejected the petition submitted by the property owners a few days ago and refused to cancel the ‘Silicon Valley’ project.
The Silicon Valley project is part of a five-year government initiative worth 2.1 billion shekels. In June 2020, the occupation municipality announced a plan to build a ‘technology park inspired by Silicon Valley in the United States.’ The occupation government claims that the Silicon Valley ‘high-tech’ project is the largest in Jerusalem, aiming to reduce gaps and improve the economic situation of Jerusalemites, but it has a dark side that threatens to demolish dozens of historic industrial and commercial shops in the place. According to the project, 200,000 square meters will be allocated to hi
gh-tech companies, 50,000 to hotels, and another 50,000 to commercial spaces. Green spaces in the place will be increased, as will public transportation, and a new technical college for advanced technology will be established.
Source: Maan News Agency
