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Saeed Qaq/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

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

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Snapshot

The new Israeli national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has unleashed a wave of home demolitions in East Jerusalem that has Palestinians taking to the streets and living on edge.

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. 

Jabal Mukkabir: Israeli bulldozers demolish the two-story home of Ratib Matar on January 29, 2023, a punitive act because the owner’s brother is a prisoner whose case attracted attention after his health deteriorated due to 74 days of solitary confinement. The house was built 15 years ago on family land and was home to 8 people.

 

Credit: 

Saeed Qaq/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Jabal Mukkabir: What remained of the children’s room in the home of Ratib Matar after it was demolished by Israeli bulldozers on January 29, 2023

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Saeed Qaq/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Jabal Mukkabir: The belongings of Ratib Matar strewn about after the family home was demolished by Israeli bulldozers on January 29, 2023

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Ahmad Gharabli /AFP via Getty Images

Jabal Mukkabir: Residents confront Israeli police officers during an all-day demonstration against escalating home demolitions on January 31, 2023. Dozens of people blocked the entrance to the neighborhood, and a general strike was observed.

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Saeed Qaq/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Jabal Mukkabir: Residents take to the streets to protest against the ongoing and escalating home demolitions in their neighborhood on January 31, 2023. In this neighborhood, 800 homes are served with demolition orders for being built without permits; only a handful are not.

Credit: 

Mays Shkerat for Jerusalem Story

Jabal Mukkabir: Police respond to daylong local protests against the home demolitions in their neighborhood on January 31, 2023.

Credit: 

Mays Shkerat for Jerusalem Story

Jabal Mukkabir: Residents confront police during a police operation demolishing five local shops on February 6, 2023.

Credit: 

Mays Shkerat for Jerusalem Story

Shu‘fat refugee camp: The family home of the late Udai Tamimi after Israeli police arrived en masse on January 25, 2023, and destroyed it as a punishment for his fatal shooting of an Israeli soldier at the Shu‘fat military checkpoint on October 7, 2022.

Credit: 

Ibrahim Hamad, Alamy Live News

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.

Impending Demolition in Wadi Qaddum in Silwan

A building housing 100 Palestinians is slated for imminent demolition in Silwan.

Credit: 

Ir Amim