Palestinian family move into cave after their makeshift home is demolished

Khalid Zir and his family are currently living in a cave in east Jerusalem Credit: APTN

A Palestinian family of seven have been forced to move into a cave after Israeli authorities demolished their makeshift accommodation.

For nearly seven years, Khalid Zir, his wife and five children had lived in a tin shack in the east Jerusalem.

The 39-year-old told the Associated Press: "My house was demolished, and I was obliged to live here because I did not have any place to go to".

The family have moved furniture, a refrigerator and a television into the cave and installed lighting. They walk over to a nearby relatives home to use shower facilities.

Mr Zir insists the family will stay in the cave until a more suitable option becomes available. Credit: APTN

Mr Zir said: "I wanted to rent a house but there are no houses here for rent, because there are no licences for us Arabs to build."

"We are patient, we are going to stay here even in a cave, under the sun, the snow and the rain, we will stay here", he added.

In a statement, Jerusalem officials said it had "removed uninhabitable tin structures located in public property that is designated to become a national park. Thus, the area cannot be used for private residential purposes."