Israeli bulldozers demolished two shops in the Palestinian neighborhood of Sur Baher, south of occupied East Jerusalem, without prior notice, as part of its ethnic cleansing policy against the Palestinians.

Mohammad Tarshan, owner of the shops, told WAFA news agency that the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem demolished his two 60-square-meter shops, built more than 50 years ago, without informing him of the demolition decision.

The municipality last October demolished a second floor Tarshan had built on top of the shops under the pretext it was built without a permit.

Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem say they are forced to build without permit because the Israeli municipality rarely issues permits to the city’s Palestinian citizens as a way to reduce their number and force them to leave their land.