As people around the world say goodbye to 2024, in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, many residents are saying goodbye to their homes.
On December 16, 2024, municipal bulldozers plowed through the al-Bustan section of Silwan and razed 9 homes—leaving 32 people—15 of them minors—homeless just as Jerusalem’s rainy winter season kicks in.1
The month before, the municipality demolished al-Bustan’s community center along with 7 other homes—leaving approximately 35 residents on the streets.2
Four days before December’s demolition, Israeli police forcibly evicted the 16-member Palestinian Gheith family from their home in the Batn al-Hawa area of Silwan—officially transferring the property to Israeli settler group Ateret Cohanim.3
Against the backdrop of Israel’s relentless genocidal war on Gaza, demolitions in East Jerusalem have skyrocketed. According to Israeli human rights organizations Ir Amim and Bimkom, a record-breaking 255 structures were demolished in 2024—the highest number since the 1967 War, also known as the Naksa. Of these, 181 were residential homes, leaving 181 Palestinian families homeless.4
And 80 more homes are in the state’s crosshairs for imminent demolition.5
Silwan, and in particular the al-Bustan and Batn al-Hawa sections, has experienced the highest number of demolitions and the brunt of Israel’s expulsion campaign of Palestinian Jerusalemites. Many residents suspect this is because of Silwan’s proximity to the Old City of Jerusalem and the sacred al-Aqsa Mosque and the state’s determination to complete a ring of projects surrounding the Old City to ensure permanent control over it and sever it from the deeply rooted Muslim and Christian Palestinian communities who have long lived in the area. According to Israeli lawyer Daniel Seidemann, writing in 2022, “We are witnessing the incorporation of the historic, religious and cultural core of Jerusalem into a biblically interpreted Israel under the de facto authority of East Jerusalem. This is not just another “bad thing” or “unhelpful unilateral step”. We are witnessing a radical transformation of the very character of Jerusalem, in ways not seen before.”6