Arabic version: السلطات الإسرائيلية تشرد العائلات الفلسطينية في شرق القدس

About a dozen Palestinian families have been pushed out of their homes in occupied East Jerusalem, according to Al Jazeera. Israeli human rights group B’Tselem reported that at least 11 families were forced out of their homes in the Batn al-Hawa area of Silwan, located just south of Jerusalem’s Old City.

Videos shared online showed a heavy Israeli police presence in the neighbourhood as workers wearing orange, reflective vests removed the families’ belongings. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) indicated that the homes are expected to be transferred to the Israeli settler organization Ateret Cohanim. The NRC also warned that over 1,000 more Palestinians in East Jerusalem are at risk of forced eviction.

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have faced a wave of soaring violence from Israeli settlers and military forces. United Nations figures report that at least 1,052 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and troops in the West Bank during this period. Additionally, tens of thousands have been displaced across the region.

Silwan has faced ongoing pressure from Israeli authorities and settler groups aiming to expand illegal settlements in the area. The Israeli Supreme Court recently rejected a final appeal from more than two dozen Palestinian families in Batn al-Hawa, further escalating the threat of eviction.

B’Tselem highlighted that approximately 90 families, totaling around 700 individuals, in Batn al-Hawa face an imminent threat of forced displacement. Another 150 families in Silwan’s al-Bustan area, amounting to 1,500 people, are also at risk. The organization described these evictions as part of a systematic policy aimed at engineering the demographic balance and ‘Judaizing’ the neighborhood by exploiting discriminatory laws.