A prominent expert has issued a stark warning regarding Israel’s intensified policy of demolishing Palestinian homes in Jerusalem and its surrounding areas. While the practice itself is not new, specialists monitoring the situation report a concerning acceleration over the past two years, signaling a dangerous escalation in urban policy enforcement.
According to detailed analysis, Israeli authorities have strategically concentrated their recent operations on the southern and eastern peripheries of Jerusalem. The neighborhoods of Silwan, along with the districts of Batn al-Hawa and Ras al-Amud, have become primary targets for these demolition campaigns. This targeted approach suggests a systematic effort to alter the demographic landscape of these specific areas.
The eviction of the Khalil Basbous family from their home in Batn al-Hawa on Monday serves as a recent and poignant example of this policy in action. This area, along with the entirety of East Jerusalem, has been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, adding a complex historical and political dimension to the current property disputes.
Quantitative data reveals the significant scale of these operations. Approximately 320 residential structures were demolished in Jerusalem throughout the previous year alone, illustrating the substantial impact on the Palestinian community. The pattern of displacement extends beyond immediate demolitions, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty and instability for residents.
Since 2015, a specific pattern of eviction has emerged in Batn al-Hawa, where around 16 families have been forcibly displaced from their homes. These actions frequently follow legal petitions filed by the Ateret Cohanim organization, a Jewish settler group dedicated to establishing a stronger Jewish presence in historically significant areas of Jerusalem. This dynamic highlights the involvement of non-governmental actors in pursuing property claims that result in the displacement of long-term Palestinian residents.