The Encroachments Committee at the Jeddah Governorate has demolished 12 illegal settlements built on State property. The settlements covered an area of over 15,000 square meters in Al-Harazat Area in Wadi Al-Muharrag, east of Jeddah. Engineer Samir Basabrain, Chairman of the Encroachments Committee, said some citizens had exploited the recent floods to encroach on state-owned land so that they could start farming. The Committee has now surrounded the plots of land with barbed wire and earth dykes to demonstrate that it is owned by the State. Basabrain said the committee, the police, and the Encroachments Department had razed the entire location. The plan of the encroachers was to build districts on the valley floors and flood courses and to later sell the property. Basabrain said the Encroachments Committee would demolish all agricultural areas created by citizens. He called on all illegal settlers to leave State property immediately and warned that any construction would be razed to the ground.
