Israeli occupation authorities on Saturday forced a Palestinian family to self-demolish their own house in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi al-Joz, citing unpermitted construction as a pretext.

Eye-witnesses told Palestinian news agency WAFA that a Palestinian family embarked on demolishing their privately-owned house to avoid paying exorbitant fees to the Israeli municipality in the event that it carried out the demolition on their own.

Under the pretext of building without a permit, which is rarely granted to Palestinians in the occupied city, the Israeli municipality has demolished or forced Palestinians to demolish hundreds of Palestinian-owned houses as part of a policy aimed to restrict Palestinian expansion in occupied Jerusalem.

Although Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, they are denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as "residents" whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.

They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel's separation wall.