Prominent Palestinian Activist’s Home Bulldozed as Demolitions Spike in Jerusalem

Around 9:00 a.m. on February 14, 2024, a group of masked Israeli officers decked out in riot gear and with their rifles drawn descended on the home of Fakhri Abu Diab, a leading Palestinian activist and spokesperson for the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. After Israeli police forcibly removed Fakhri and his family from the home, where he and his family had lived for generations, a municipal bulldozer demolished it.

“All of the memories, my wife and I together, everything is underneath all the rubble,” Fakhri told Jerusalem Story.1

“They demolished the memory, the past and the future. They did not demolish just the ceiling or the house,” he said.2

His family of seven3 is now homeless and sleeping in a different place every night.

The demolition has reverberated throughout the al-Bustan area of Silwan, where Fakhri’s home stood. 

“When they demolished Fakhri’s home, all of the families in al-Bustan [became] afraid,” said Qutaybah Odah, director of the Al-Bustan Association in Silwan, a community center also at risk of demolition.4

Al-Bustan is home to over 1,500 Palestinian residents who reside in more than 100 houses, most of which face demolition.5 In fact, all six neighborhoods of Silwan (al-Bustan, Wadi Hilweh, Wadi al-Joz, Batan al-Hawa, and Wadi al-Rababa) are under threat of demolition, making it one of the largest Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem at risk of mass displacement.

Silwan’s residents built their homes on private land but without required permits, because the municipality hasn’t approved a zoning plan6 for the town, which allows for residential construction, since occupying East Jerusalem in 1967. Thus, from 2005, the Jerusalem Municipality7 has deemed the buildings illegal and subject to demolition.

“Fakhri is Silwan,” Qutaybah said, noting how Fakhri regularly speaks to diplomats and American officials about Silwan’s struggles.

“What about the normal person?” Qutaybah asked, implying that a prominent figure being targeted leaves little hope for the rest of the community. 

“Al-Bustan families are under stress. I slept two hours last night.” All three homes of Qutaybah’s family in Silwan are slated for demolition.

The municipality delivered its final demolition notice, dated January 31, to Fakhri on January 29, 2024, demanding he self-demolish his home within 10 days.

With all legal avenues exhausted, Fakhri’s lawyer, Adv. Ziad Qawar, requested to postpone the demolition on humanitarian grounds, because Fakhri will soon undergo surgery,8 but the municipality denied this request.9

The municipality initially ordered the demolition of Fakhri’s home in 2005, and subsequently reissued the order over the years. Last week’s demolition was in response to a 2012 court order.10 The entire home—including the part built before Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967—was demolished.

In 2004, the Jerusalem Municipality determined that al-Bustan is culturally and religiously significant for allegedly being the site where King David established his kingdom around 1000 BCE and that therefore, the town’s homes should be destroyed and the area turned into a national and archaeological park called The King’s Garden. In March 2005,11 the first demolition orders were issued with Abu Diab’s home among them. 

Over the years, municipal plans have stalled due to international opposition and residents successfully securing a demolition freeze while they try to work with the municipality to develop a zoning plan for the neighborhood.12

Recently, the municipality rejected the residents’ proposed zoning plan and instead developed their own plan without consulting the residents or their lawyer. Now, the municipality wants the residents to approve the new proposed plan without first reviewing it and instead, states that each family can see the plan individually but not as a group.13

In response to Jerusalem Story’s queries on why Fakhri’s home was demolished, the Jerusalem Municipality stated,14 “Like most buildings in the neighborhood, it is situated on designated green land—an open public area with no possibility of zoning approval.”

In what could be understood as attempts to pressure al-Bustan to agree to the municipality’s plans, the municipality added:

From Fakhri’s perspective, the timing of the demolition isn’t coincidental. With the world’s eyes on Gaza, the municipality has ramped up home demolitions in East Jerusalem. Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023 as a response to Hamas’s attack, four structures—including Fakhri’s home—have been demolished in al-Bustan. According to Jerusalem-focused nonprofit Ir Amim, Israel has demolished 94 structures in East Jerusalem since the war began—a nearly 70 percent increase in demolitions.16

Moreover, Fakhri’s work in cultivating political pressure and acting as Silwan’s representative has turned him into a prime target. After receiving notice of his home’s demolition, Fakhri hosted several international officials including European diplomats and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs in the US Department of State Andrew Miller. Fakhri and his lawyer, Qawar, reveal that reference was even made by the police to Fakhri’s media activity when delivering the demolition notice.17

“[The municipality] says that I’m the one that’s been delaying that project,” Fakhri said, referring to municipal plans to build a park. “So, they wanted to get rid of the barrier.”

Even with his home now in ruins, Fakhri remains undeterred, hoping to turn the building remains into an office that works against demolitions and a place where diplomats and world leaders can gather to build pressure.

“My intention is to help the community. It’s not just my home that I have to defend, it’s the whole neighborhood—whole of East Jerusalem,” Fakhri said. “I’m going to work twice as hard, so they don’t have to suffer as much as I’m suffering. [Israel is] not going to break me.”