Jerusalem family living in tent on ruins of home

A Palestinian family is living in a tent on the ruins of their home after it was demolished by Israeli forces on Tuesday. Khaled al-Zeir erected the tent on the rubble of his home in the al-Abbasiya neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem. Israeli forces on Tuesday demolished the 60-square-meter room al-Zeir lived in with his wife and seven children. They also demolished his brother's room and three barns which housed sheep, horses, pigeons and chickens. Al-Zeir told Ma'an that he put up the tent to prevent Israel's Nature and Parks Authority from taking control of his land. Israeli forces demolished 412 housing units in East Jerusalem between 2004-2012, according to B'Tselem, leaving 1,636 Palestinians homeless. Palestinian homes are usually demolished under the pretext of not having a building permit. Figures from Israeli NGO Bimkom show that 95 percent of Palestinian applications for a building permit are rejected. Rights groups say that Israel implements a series of discriminatory practices in housing, planning, residency rights and budget allocation in East Jerusalem, with the aim of reducing the number of Palestinians living in the city.