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Israel razed several buildings, including an inhabited Palestinian home in the Beit Hanina neighborhood, in eastern Jerusalem on July 13. The demolition was the first in eastern Jerusalem in eight months.

The inhabited house, home to a family of seven, was built without a city permit, Jerusalem municipality officials told Reuters. Four other uninhabited homes in the Jabel Mukaber and Issawiya neighborhoods, as well as a partially built factory, also were demolished.

Israel’s previous demolitions of eastern Jerusalem homes were condemned internationally. In recent months, the Obama administration has called on Israel not to demolish Palestinian homes built without a permit. The Netanyahu government had sought to put a hold on razing homes in an effort to move peace talks forward and to prevent a showdown with the Obama administration.

Meanwhile, a municipal committee on July 12 approved the construction of 32 homes in Pisgat Zeev, a Jewish neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem. Some 250 units are planned for the neighborhood, according to reports.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said he will not enter into direct peace negotiations with Israel until it halts all settlement building, including in east Jerusalem. — jta