In a report about the destruction of neighborhoods in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, an English magazine announced that the Saudi crown prince is destroying these neighborhoods to take revenge on its residents.
According to the International group of Pak Sahafat news agency, The Al Saud regime is determined to continue destroying the neighborhoods of Jeddah regardless of the state of dissatisfaction.
The English magazine “Economist” wrote in a report that the destruction of the old cities of Jeddah by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with the claim of developing the city is based on the fact that he wants to punish the people of Jeddah for not giving in to the wishes of Al Saud.
In the continuation of this report, it is stated that the dictator kings of the Arab countries like to be famous by building projects and it seems that Mohammed bin Salman is imitating the Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, while many people in Jeddah have been displaced and the government has not paid them compensation.
The Economist wrote: No wonder the Saudis called bin Salman “bulldozer”. He destroyed the old city of Jeddah with a bulldozer, and most of the southern areas and a large part of the city center were destroyed. He also destroyed some mosques, schools, factories and residential buildings.
This magazine emphasized that Muhammad bin Salman seeks to punish the residents of Jeddah by destroying the neighborhoods of Jeddah and not paying them compensation; because its people, with their historical background, did not accept Al Saud’s rule over Saudi Arabia from the beginning and did not give in to its demands.
According to this report, Mohammed bin Salman continues to destroy the neighborhoods of Jeddah and leave its citizens alone, while the housing rent in Jeddah has increased and many of them have been forced to live in tents in the desert.
This magazine further stated: The noisy neighborhoods of Jeddah are turning into a ghost town, where the authorities write the word evacuation in red on the walls without prior warning, then cut off the electricity and water of these residents.
The Economist quoted a Saudi writer when describing the old city of Jeddah as saying: “It seems that Jeddah has become a war zone” and this is despite the fact that no one dares to protest and the people who express their displeasure are very brave people.
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A Saudi doctor whose house was destroyed by a bulldozer called it the biggest shock of his life. He, who asked not to be named because of the reaction of the authorities, said: We are strangers in our city.
Fahad, one of the residents of these neighborhoods, announced that the security forces confiscated the mobile phones of the evictees to prevent filming. We were evicted from our homes overnight without any warning.
The following is the report: 13 years ago, a $45 billion project to repair Jeddah’s neighborhoods was unveiled, but it never materialized. Confused residents only saw plans to turn an old desalination plant into an opera house. For displaced Saudis, the landscape master plan speaks more of their devastation and displacement.
Jeddah is the second largest city in Saudi Arabia with a population of 4.5 million. This city is an important economic center and the gateway for millions of people who go to Mecca every year to perform Hajj. Demolition of residential areas in Jeddah is part of the government’s plan to replace large projects. At least 10 neighborhoods have been completely destroyed so far, and demolition operations are still ongoing in 10 other neighborhoods. The plan targets about 60 districts, mostly in the southern part of the city, and is expected to continue for months.
The destruction of Jeddah took place while Mohammed bin Salman launched a new investment project to build four important world buildings “opera house, museum, sports stadium and ocean basins and coral farms” in addition to ten special tourist projects as part of the implementation of vision programs.
The destruction of Jeddah’s residential areas has aggravated the housing crisis in Saudi Arabia and the rental prices have increased drastically in the city, so that the residents say that the rent has doubled in a few days and many of them cannot afford it.
Under the pretext of developing the city, the Saudi authorities are demolishing houses and displacing its residents, while dozens of projects in Jeddah have been stopped for years and have not yet been completed.
Activists of social networks condemned the actions of the Saudi authorities regarding the complete destruction of residential neighborhoods in Jeddah province and displacing the residents of these neighborhoods and not giving them the opportunity to find a residential home instead of their houses that are subject to complete destruction.
It seems that the Saudi government is determined to continue the destruction of the declared neighborhoods regardless of the status of the grievances. A project in the center of Jeddah with the support of Prince Mohammed bin Salman will replace these neighborhoods, and he considers this project a “victory over the slums” with an approximate budget of 500 billion.