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Israeli authorities have intensified home demolitions in East Jerusalem, particularly in Palestinian neighborhoods like Silwan. Residents like Fakhri Abu Diab face displacement and loss, with over 260 structures demolished last year. The policy is part of broader settlement expansion that critics say aims to erase Palestinian presence.
In the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem, the remnants of demolished Palestinian homes mark a landscape of displacement and loss. Fakhri Abu Diab, a resident who fought for decades to keep his home, now lives in a mobile home among the rubble.
Israeli authorities demolished his house two years ago, along with many others in the al-Bustan area. The neighborhood, once named for its orchards, now contains crowded concrete blocks and piles of debris. Abu Diab's story echoes the broader experience of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, where Israeli policies have intensified home demolitions and settlement expansion. According to Ir Amim, an Israeli anti-settlement group, over 260 homes and other structures were demolished in 2025, a 70% increase from three years earlier.
This year has seen at least 116 demolitions so far. Researchers describe an unprecedented intensity and scope, with authorities targeting entire neighborhoods for erasure. Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, and while it considers the city its unified capital, the international community views the area as occupied territory. Palestinians in East Jerusalem can apply for Israeli citizenship, but most refuse as it would mean recognizing Israeli sovereignty.
This leaves them with limited legal recourse against housing policies that favor Jewish residents. Palestinians make up about 40% of Jerusalem's population, concentrated in the east.
However, housing permits are disproportionately allocated: last year, nearly 9,000 permits were approved for Jewish residents and fewer than 700 for Palestinians, according to Bimkom. Israeli officials claim Palestinians rarely apply, but many Palestinians say the process is futile due to systematic discrimination. Those who build without permits face demolition.
Meanwhile, settler groups use various laws to acquire Palestinian properties. The U.S. State Department has stated that it defers to Israeli authorities on Jerusalem policy, expecting due process. The demolitions have drawn international criticism, but the policy continues, leaving families like Abu Diab's in limbo, living among fragments of their former lives
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