5 houses demolished in Jerusalem during Ramadan.. The Israeli occupation and the methodology of displacing Palestinians

The Israeli occupation demolished five Palestinian homes during a week in the month of Ramadan in the city of Jerusalem, in addition to evacuating a historic house in Jerusalem in favor of a Jewish synagogue as part of a demographic change project and a plan to build a thousand settlements.

The Israeli occupation forces demolished a house in the village of Rafat, northwest of occupied Jerusalem, in a new step that differs from what they usually do during the month of Ramadan.

Local sources said that the occupation forces stormed the village of Rafat with bulldozers and surrounded the house of the detainee, Hael Issa Daif Allah (58 years old), and demolished the house.

It is noteworthy that Daif Allah was arrested after being shot by the occupation forces near the "Givat Asaf" settlement, east of Ramallah, on September 11th.

Demolition of houses in Ramadan

In the first week of Ramadan, Israeli occupation authorities demolished homes in East Jerusalem - a month during which Israel had previously refrained from carrying out demolitions due to its religious sensitivity - according to the Israeli rights organization Ir Amim.

During the past week, the occupation demolished four buildings, as follows: a residential house in the town of Beit Hanina and three apartments in the town of Issawiya. The demolitions included the destruction of a residential apartment that housed farmers, in addition to agricultural facilities, fences and doors.

This has caused six families to lose their livelihood, and the initial economic damage is estimated at more than $2 million. According to Ir Amim data, 2024 saw a 14% increase in home demolitions in East Jerusalem compared to 2023.

Since the beginning of 2025, 46 buildings have already been demolished and the indicators point to an increase in this phenomenon. “For the first time, Israel is violating the long-standing custom and carrying out demolitions during the month of Ramadan, a holy month for millions of Muslims around the world,” said Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher at the organization.

“This sets a dangerous precedent that deepens the suffering of East Jerusalem residents, who are forced to build without permits due to Israel’s discriminatory planning policy,” he added. “Instead of harsh demolitions, it is time to develop master plans that allow Palestinians to obtain legal building permits.”

Displacement of Palestinians

The occupation authorities pursue a policy of demolishing Palestinian homes in occupied Jerusalem, as part of punitive measures aimed at forced displacement, ethnic cleansing, and Judaization of the city. These measures are justified with flimsy pretexts, such as building without a permit, despite the fact that the occupation imposes strict restrictions that make obtaining permits almost impossible.

During the month of February, the Jerusalem Governorate monitored (31) demolition and leveling operations, including (6) forced self-demolition operations, where Palestinians were forced to demolish their homes to avoid paying heavy fines, (18) demolition operations using military vehicles, and (7) leveling operations targeting lands and streets.

Jerusalem witnessed an escalation in demolitions, evictions and seizures last month, especially in Issawiya, Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan. The Jerusalem Governorate documented (11) violations, including (7) demolition notices, two cases of land seizure, and two cases of eviction, most notably the decision to evict the Diab family from Jerusalem in Sheikh Jarrah, which threatens to displace 22 individuals.

Historic house evacuation

In a related context, the Israeli occupation court in Jerusalem issued a decision to evict the Pasha family from their historic home located on Al-Wad Street in the Old City, in favor of annexing it to a Jewish synagogue.

Jerusalemite citizen Abdul Majeed Al-Basha said that his family rejects this unjust decision and affirms its adherence to its legitimate right to the land and the building, which is an integral part of Jerusalem’s history and its Arab and Islamic identity.

He explained that the decision gives the family two months to file an appeal, otherwise they will be forced to vacate their historic three-storey home.

For his part, lawyer Muhammad Mufid al-Basha, one of the family’s sons, said, “This decision not only constitutes a legal injustice, but is also a clear targeting of the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem,” stressing that the family will take all legal measures to appeal the decision and stop its implementation.

This decision comes within the context of a systematic attempt to displace Palestinian families from their homes in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, with the aim of changing the demographic character of the holy city.
The Palestinian National Council condemned the decision of the Israeli occupation court in Jerusalem to evict the Al-Basha family.

The National Council said in a press statement that this decision is considered a new link in the series of ongoing Israeli violations against our people, our lands and our holy sites. It represents a blatant infringement on Palestinian rights and part of the plan to Judaize and erase the landmarks of the Arab and Islamic city.

Expanding settlements in Jerusalem

The Israeli public radio revealed that the deputy mayor of the occupation municipality in Jerusalem, Arieh King, submitted a proposal to the Israeli government last week to expand the municipality’s influence, with the aim of “strengthening the Jewish majority in Jerusalem and consolidating its status as the capital of Israel,” according to his expression.

Political sources expected that King's request would be approved within days. King's proposal calls for "expanding the municipality's influence at the expense of the settlement councils in the areas of the Mitte Binyamin settlement council and Givat Ze'ev."

The "Mite Binyamin" settlement council is one of the largest settlement councils in the West Bank, as it includes most of the settlements established on the lands of the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate, in addition to settlements in Jerusalem. The council includes 46 settlements, 10 settlement outposts, two agricultural settlements, and an industrial zone.

The plan includes annexing 7,300 dunams from the Givat Ze'ev Council to the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem Municipality, including the "Nabi Samuel Park", in addition to 1,600 dunams from the Binyamin Settlement Council, including an abandoned quarry north of the "Neve Yaakov" settlement and the "Keren Kayemet LeIsrael" forest located between "Neve Yaakov" and the "Adam" settlement built on the lands of the village of Jaba.

In a related context, the local committee for planning and settlement construction in the Jerusalem municipality is scheduled to discuss a new plan to build more than a thousand settlement units in the east of the city.

According to the plan, 380 housing units will be built in the Nof Zion settlement adjacent to Jabal Mukaber, along with a school, two synagogues, and commercial spaces. The plan also includes the construction of another 650 housing units near the Sur Baher neighborhood, between the Ramat Rachel settlement and the Har Homa neighborhood (Jabal Abu Ghneim), in addition to commercial spaces, an elementary school, a community center, and a kindergarten.

The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported that the Ministerial Committee for Legislation in Israel is expected to approve a draft law that would allow the annexation of West Bank settlements surrounding Jerusalem.

The bill, submitted by Likud MK Dan Iluz, proposes the establishment of a "Greater Jerusalem" that includes the surrounding settlements in the city such as Ma'ale Adumim, Givat Ze'ev, Efrat and Ma'ale Mikhmas, according to the Hebrew newspaper.

Source: Al-Quds Al-Arabi