Two homes self-demolished in Umm al-Fahm within days: Sa'id Ighbariyya demolishes his home with his own hands
Sa'id Ighbariyya demolished his own home in Umm al-Fahm early Tuesday morning after receiving a notice that police and bulldozers were arriving to carry out the demolition, in order to avoid exorbitant costs. This is the second home to be self-demolished in the city within days, after Muhammad Khalifa demolished his home last Thursday despite having spent over 600,000 shekels.
The suffering of homeowners facing demolition in the Arab community continued, with two families in Umm al-Fahm forced to demolish their own homes within days to avoid the high costs imposed by Israeli authorities. Early Tuesday morning, Sa'id Qarmata Ighbariyya demolished his home in the Al-Uyun neighborhood himself, after receiving a notice in the late-night hours that Israeli police forces and bulldozers were arriving to carry out the demolition. Ighbariyya proceeded with the demolition to avoid bearing the heavy financial costs that could result from the authorities demolishing the home. Ighbariyya expressed the magnitude of the tragedy faced by homeowners threatened with demolition, asking: "Where do we go? Do they want our children to become criminals?"—referring to the psychological and social burdens that home demolitions impose on families. Ighbariyya's home is the second to be self-demolished in Umm al-Fahm within a few days, as young man Muhammad Jamal Ibrahim Khalifa demolished his home in the Sweisa neighborhood last Thursday after receiving a demolition order on the grounds of unlicensed construction, despite having spent over 600,000 shekels on its construction and preparing to move into it for his marriage and a new life.