Israeli forces demolished a Palestinian-owned butcher shop in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. The butcher shop was built without a permit, according to Israeli officials. Palestinians argue they are rarely granted permits by the municipality.

Israeli forces fired teargas canisters and sponge-tipped bullets at Palestinians who had gathered to protest the demolition. Thirteen Palestinians were injured, as well as two Israeli officers, according to Israeli press.

Nearly 100 other structures are marked for demolition in the area, many of them homes. According to an Israeli nonprofit, of the 21,000 housing permits given in 2019, only 8 percent were in Palestinian areas, even though they make up 38 percent of Jerusalem’s population.

For years, Jerusalem’s municipality has been planning to build a tourist park known as the King’s Garden in the Silwan area of occupied East Jerusalem, which borders the Al Aqsa mosque compound.

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