The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF)’s systematic policy of forced evictions in occupied East Jerusalem and warns of the accelerating destruction of Palestinian homes and facilities, land confiscations, and the displacement of residents under various pretexts.
According to information gathered by PCHR’s researcher, while waging a genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip for over 15 months, the Municipality of Jerusalem is accelerating the demolition of Palestinian homes and facilities under the pretext of construction without building permits. However, the municipality’s truel intent is to implement settlement projects designed to create a Jewish majority in the city and alter its demographic, religious, and historical reality. This is being carried out through policies that prevent and restrict construction, the distribution of thousands of demolition orders for residential and civilian facilities, forcibly demolishing some homes, and imposing self-demolition on others.
Within less than a month, the Israeli authorities demolished 21 housing units and two civilian facilities, rendering 96 individuals, including 56 children and 22 women, homeless, as documented by PCHR’s field researchers.
The latest demolition was on 05 January 2025, when the Israeli authorities have forced six siblings to implement the Israeli municipality’s order and self-demolish their six apartments located in a residential building in Beir Ayoub neighborhood in Silwan village, south of occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City, under the pretext of unlicensed construction. As a result, 43 individuals, including 20 children and 9 women, were displaced.
Akram Saleh ‘Awaida said to PCHR’s researcher that he and his brothers were forced to implement the Israeli municipality’s order and self-demolish their houses to avoid paying 300,000 shekels for the municipality as demolition fees. He also stated that the 2-story residential building was established before 1996, with each floor containing six apartments. He added that he, along with his wife and their five children, lived in a 60-sqm apartment, and his brothers’ families of 43, including 20 children and 9 women, lived in similarly sized apartments. He clarified that about six months ago, the Israeli municipality imposed a fine of 120,000 shekels on the family, despite their multiple attempts over the past years to license their houses, but to no avail. Ultimately, they were forced to self-demolish their houses, rendering them homeless amid the cold weather.
On 18 December 2024, Israeli bulldozers demolished 6 inhabited houses belonging to al-Dayafeen, Abu Ghalia, and Tarman families in the industrial area adjacent to the eastern entrance to‘Anata village, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem, rendering 22 people, including 8 children and 7 women, homeless.
Khader al-Dayafeen, owner of one of the demolished houses, said to PCHR’s researcher that the demolition took place in a Bedouin community belonging to the al-Diyafeen and Abu Ghalia families. The Bedouin community, which was established in 2008 in the industrial area in ‘Anata village, consists of nine concrete residential houses, most of them roofed with concrete while a small part roofed with metal sheets. These houses were built between 2008 and 2015 and sheltered around 50 individuals. Al-Diyafeen added that the Israeli authorities handed demolition orders for residential houses five years ago. Since then, the residents had attempted several times to obtain licenses for their houses, but to no avail. They also appointed a lawyer to delay the demolition, but about two weeks ago, the court issued a final decision to demolish the houses. On 18 December 2024, the residents were shocked when the IOF raided the Bedouin community and demolished six residential houses, displacing 22 people. Al-Diyafeen clarified that the demolished houses belonged to him, his brother Mohammed, his son Yousef, as well as Mohammed al-Turman, and Ismail and Mohammed Abu Ghalia. Each house was built on an area of 40-60 square meters.
On 16 December 2024, the Israeli municipality bulldozers demolished 9 residential houses, a store, and a parking lot belonging to Abu Shafe’, Abu Diyab, Jalajel, and Basheer families
in al-Bostan neighborhood in Silwan village, under the pretext of construction without building permits. As a result, 31 individuals, including 6 women and 18 children, were displaced. According to PCHR’s follow-up, the demolition was carried out to establish a settlement project in the neighborhood, known as the “King’s Garden” project.
‘Ali Fathi Rajab Abu Shafe’, one of the owners of the demolished houses, told PCHR’s researcher that the Israeli municipality demolished five houses belonging to him and his family in the neighborhood, under the pretext of construction without building permits, aiming to establish the “King’s Garden” project. Abu Shafe’ pointed out that he, along with his wife and their two daughters, live in one of the demolished houses built on an area of 55 square meters. Next to his home was the 50-sqm house of his mother Sabah Abu Shafe’, an elderly woman with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, who requires special medical equipment and oxygen. Additionally, Ali’s sister Ghadeer and her three children lived in her 60-sqm nearby house, while his brother Odai lived alone in his 50-sqm house, and his other brother Rami lived with his wife and their three children in his 60-sqm house. Abu Shafe’ clarified that on 24 November 2024, the Israeli municipality notified his family to evacuate and self-demolish their five houses and threatened to send demolition machinery and impose heavy fines if they did not obey the orders. He pointed out that over the past years, his family headed to the Israeli courts to postpone the demolition orders recently handed by the municipality to dozens of families in al-Bostan neighborhood as part of plans to establish the “King’s Garden” project by demolishing Palestinian homes and displacing their residents. He also stated that his family had paid fines exceeding 100,000 shekels to the Israeli municipality over the past years under the pretext of unlicensed construction, despite that the houses were built between 1993 and 2000.
Fakhri Khalil Abu Diyab, a member of the Committee for the Defense of Silwan’s Lands and owner of one of the demolished houses, told PCHR’s researcher that the Israeli municipality has recently adopted a mass demolition policy in the Silwan neighborhood. He also stated that last November, the Israeli authorities demolished his house and his son’s house for the second time within one year. Additionally, seven other residential houses, a livestock barrack, and a retaining wall were demolished in the neighborhood, displacing 35 individuals, including 20 children and 8 women. Abu Diyab clarified that al-Bostan neighborhood has become a target for the Israeli municipality to demolish as a prelude to establishing the “King’s Garden” project. He affirmed that the current mass demolition orders indicate that the municipality is getting closer to achieving its goal of completely destroying the neighborhood. He pointed out that about 100 houses sheltering 1,500 people in al-Bostan neighborhood are currently threatened with demolition. If these homes are demolished, the IOF will proceed to demolish entire neighborhoods to alter the demographic composition, destroy homes, displace residents, and surround the Old City and Al-Aqsa Mosque with settlements. He also highlighted that the Israeli municipality demolished 25 houses and facilities in al-Bostan neighborhood in 2024 and continues its demolition policy to fully achieve its settlement goals.
According to PCHR’s follow-up and field documentation, the Israeli authorities carried out more than 430 demolitions in Jerusalem in 2024. Of these, 251 demolitions and land leveling operations took place in occupied East Jerusalem, where 181 housing units (houses or apartments), commercial and agricultural facilities, foundations, retaining walls, rooms, barracks, houses’ foundations, and mosques were demolished, in addition to land leveling. Out of these demolitions, 100 were self-demolitions carried out by the owners to avoid paying heavy fines as demolition fees to the municipality’s crews and the accompanying Israeli police officers. Additionally, owners of the notified facilities fear the damage caused during the demolitions by Israeli municipality crews, who often cause severe damage to Palestinians’ facilities and properties in the areas being demolished.
Despite the fact that the Israeli authorities allow Jerusalemites holding blue IDs to build on only 13% of the area of occupied East Jerusalem, building permits in this area are very expensive and nearly impossible to obtain due to the Israeli-imposed restrictions and the state’s discriminatory procedures in this regard. If the Israeli authorities grant building permits for the Palestinians, they grant permits at a rate of less than 2% of building permit applications, forcing Palestinians to build without obtaining permits, in line with the natural growth of their families. Thus, the Israeli authorities use the lack of building permits as an excuse to carry out demolitions or force Palestinians to self- demolish their homes.
While the Israeli authorities continue the demolition of Palestinians’ homes and facilities, on 07 January 2025, they seized 262 dunams of land in northeastern occupied East Jerusalem for the expansion of a settlement road. The Jerusalem Governorate reported in a statement that the Israeli authorities announced the “expropriation” of over 262 dunams of land from Jaba’, al-Ram, Kafr Aqab, and Mukhmas areas in occupied East Jerusalem, for the benefit of Settlement Road No. 45, which extends from Mukhmas area to the new tunnel under Qalandia Airport, and implementation will take place within 60 days[1].
PCHR condemns Israel’s policy of demolishing Palestinian homes and facilities in occupied East Jerusalem and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt), displacing Palestinian residents, and seizing land. PCHR also highlights that Israel is exploiting the ongoing genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip to impose new facts on the ground in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
PCHR calls on the international community to assume its responsibilities and end Israel’s occupation of the oPt, including occupied East Jerusalem. PCHR also indicates that the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s ruling issued in July 2024, stating that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is illegal. The ruling obliges Israel to end this unlawful presence as soon as possible, immediately halt its settlement activities, and evacuate all settlers from the oPt.
PCHR also calls on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue new arrest warrants for those involved in settlement crimes, including Israeli political and military leaders.
