Israeli bulldozers destroyed at least two homes and two other buildings in contested east Jerusalem Tuesday for the first time in eight months, effectively ending an unofficial freeze of such internationally-condemned demolitions. Palestinians said three of the demolished structures were homes and one was a warehouse. Two daybeds and bags crammed with children's clothing and kitchen utensils were strewn outside one of the buildings. The EU criticised Israel's demolition of Palestinian buildings, calling the move an obstacle to peace. “I have to express my deep concern about the latest developmnents in east Jerusalem,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said during a news conference with Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad in Brussels. Basem Isawi, 48, an unemployed contractor, stood stony-faced amid the rubble of his unfinished home, forbidding his six children to come out of the nearby house where they currently live to see what had happened to it. Isawi said he built the almost-finished home for about $25,000 because he was convinced the municipality would deny him a permit. He had been notified of the impending demolition but did not know when it was slated to happen, he said. “We watched them destroy the house, and we couldn't do anything,” Isawi said. Police said the demolitions were carried out without incident. On Monday, a Jerusalem municipal committee gave preliminary approval to 32 new apartments in a Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem, rolling back a decision earlier this year to quietly put new projects on hold. And in recent weeks, the municipality has begun demolishing small, uninhabited structures, such as sheds, built without permits in east Jerusalem. Saeb Erekat, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the demolitions. “This government of Israel has been given the choice between settlements and peace and it is obvious that it chose settlements,” he said.
