Ben-Gvir Unleashes a Wave of Home Demolitions across East Jerusalem

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered that demolitions of any and all Palestinian homes built without permits in East Jerusalem should be accelerated, in the wake of the shooting attack near Neve Yaakov settlement on Friday, January 27, 2023. He wasted no time ordering the first 14 demolitions, as shown here, and the bulldozers and police swarmed in to the Palestinian neighborhood of Jabal Mukkabir on January 29.

The escalation of demolitions across East Jerusalem has Palestinians living there taking to the streets.

Palestinians are compelled to build without permits because their applications for permits are routinely denied. 

A few days prior, hundreds of police swarmed into Shu‘fat refugee camp and demolished another home on punitive grounds, inflicting collective punishment on an entire family.

In early February, another house was demolished in al-Walaja, home to nine people. And two storage units, one in Sur Bahir and another in Silwan. A 50-year-old room was demolished in the neighborhood of al-Thuri in Silwan.

More demolitions are imminent in Jabal Mukkabir and elsewhere in East Jerusalem in the wake of Ben-Gvir’s aggressive policy stance. 

Lastly, a planned demolition is imminent for a four-story residential building in Wadi Qaddum in the neighborhood of Silwan. The building has 12 housing units and houses nearly 100 women, children, and elderly with medical conditions and no alternative housing. Learn more about this case in the video that follows. The demolition was scheduled for February 7 or 8 but was then reportedly deferred due to external pressure. 

Despite the postponement, the demolition order remains in force, which means it can occur at any moment the municipality chooses.