120 Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians demolition order along with all the residents of Al-Bustan, which stated that the Municipality of Jerusalem gives the order to demolish the houses in Al-Bustan neighborhood because this area has a significant historical and archeological importance for the Jewish people and internationally. Therefore, the Municipality informed us that our houses were built illegally because we built without permits and according to the outline plan (AM/9) approved by the Municipality in 1977 designating the area as an "open public area". This statement is wrong. Many houses in Al-Bustan neighborhood were built before 1962. In addition to that, many residents tried to submit local plans to register the construction of their homes, or have applied for building permits over the years, all of which were rejected by the Municipality of Jerusalem. In 2008 I received another demolition order, which stated that the house was built illegally. Another order was distributed in 2010, but this time they stopped writing our names on the orders and in many cases we weren't aware to whom the demolition orders or court notices were addressed. Therefore we hired a lawyer who started representing us. Court Case In 23 December 2010 I was sued by the state of Israel for having an illegal house that was built without permits from the Local Committee for Building and Planning. The Court for Local Matters decision on 12 June 2012 was to fine me 35,000 NIS ($9,700) and that I can be charged with the same amount of money if I commit any "violations" of the Building and Planning Law in the coming 24 months. The decision also included an order to self-demolish my house before the date of 12 June 2013 (within a year), otherwise, the municipality would demolish it and charge me the demolition costs plus penalties incurred by failing to carry out the court’s order, which could include imprisonment. This was the decision of the Court for Local Matters against which I appealed to the District Court. My appeal was rejected in August 2012. The Municipality appealed against the dates of the demolitions given by the court for me and the other residents of Al-Bustan asking to shorten the date of the house demolitions. The last court session was on 11 February 2013 in the District Court. The judge stated that she had already decided and it would be sent within two weeks to the concerned persons. No one has received a decision yet. In 2009 and in parallel to the court cases, we, the popular committee, decided to build a protest tent, which was made for multiple purposes. First of all to have a gathering point for all the residents of Al-Bustan whose houses are under the threat of demolition. We also wanted to show that our struggle against the Municipality is a popular struggle and non-violent. Furthermore, it is made to host and be a forum for international and national organizations, media organizations and activists who are interested in our struggle.