A six-member family living in the Jordan Valley's Deir Alla area is now homeless after government bulldozers allegedly razed their home to the ground in a quest for buried treasure, said the Jordan Times, quoting a press report.
Yousef Qatawneh, owner of the house, was quoted by the paper as saying that “local authorities supervised the demolition, during which bulldozers bearing red licence plates tore the house down.”
He said he was detained for some time and his family was prevented from approaching the home after officials claimed that gold lay underneath the home, the daily added.
He said the local officials prevented him from removing any of their belongings from the house and forced them to seek shelter with neighbors. No gold was found despite hours of digging, added Qatawneh, who said the house has been there for decades.
The governor told the daily Al Arab Al Yawm that “he had received a defense order to demolish the house and to search for gold buried beneath it.”
According to the report, government officials visited the area at midnight a few months ago and dug in the fields around the house.
Qatawneh claims that local officials offered him money to remain quiet and to refrain from suing them, but he refused their offer and sent a letter to the minister of interior requesting an investigation into the incident and demanding compensation for the loss of his home – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
