A Palestinian resident of occupied East Jerusalem started Saturday to tear down his house under pressure from the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem and to avoid paying astronomical costs and fines, according to local sources.

They said Mohammad Hussein Qanbar hired a bulldozer to demolish his 120-square-meter house in Ras al-Amoud neighborhood of East Jerusalem after he received a demolition order from the Israeli municipality under the pretext of construction without a permit. Seven people lived in the house, they said, who have become homeless.

Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem say they are forced to build without a permit to accommodate their growing families because getting one is almost impossible from a racist Israeli municipality that discriminates between Jewish and Palestinian residents and supports a demographic balance in favor of Jews.

When getting a demolition order, Palestinians prefer to tear down their homes on their own because otherwise, the Israeli municipality will force them to pay extremely high costs and fines if its staff carries out the demolition.