Already, Anata is cut off from the center of Beit-ul-Moqaddas by Israel's West Bank separation barrier, dubbed by its critics as the “Apartheid Wall”.
The single-story structure was first knocked down in 2005 but volunteers rebuilt it over two weeks last summer. Former Beit-ul-Moqaddas city council member Meir Margalit, one of Hamdan's supporters, said his group won't be deterred and plans to rebuild again.
On Wednesday, a crane-mounted jackhammer tore down Hamdan's home — two apartments on 1,560 square feet, one for him and one for his parents, 60-year-old Naziha and 70-year-old Hassan. The wrecking crew was guarded by Israeli police, and one Israeli activist was briefly detained for trying to block the demolition.
"I felt my heart would explode," Naziha Hamdan said of watching her house being wrecked. Hamdan, a 30-year-old bachelor, said he'd sleep at his workshop from now on, while his parents would move in with his brother. A small truck arrived to cart off the family's belongings, including a sofa, fridge and window frames.
Hamdan's lawyer, Sami Ershied, said the family applied repeatedly for permission to build on its land in Anata, but was always turned town on grounds that Anata doesn't have a master plan, and without one, permits cannot be issued.
Demolition orders are currently pending against several other Anata houses, he said.
Across Arab east Beit-ul-Moqaddas, thousands of Palestinian residents live in fear of demolition, said Margalit.
Israel tries to portray demolitions as a technical matter, an attempt that does not convince the rest of the word that does not recognize the Israel’s illegal control of Beit-ul-Moqaddas.