A Palestinian man was forced to demolish his own house in Silwan, Jerusalem, after the Israeli municipality threatened to demolish it for him.

The Israeli municipality told Abd el-Ghani al-Dweik that his house had to be demolished because it was built without a permit.

Dweik had to choose between paying high demolition costs and demolishing the house himself, WAFA news reported.

Palestinians in East Jerusalem are forced to build their houses without a permit, because the Israeli municipality rarely issues them to allow the “legal” construction of their homes.

The procedures to apply for Israeli-issued building permits are lengthy, sometimes lasting for several years.

The application costs could reach up to 300,000 shekels ($79,180), according to the Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ).