Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem hit new record
Israeli forces destroy a building in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, 20 February 2024
Georgia Gee and Dikla Taylor-Sheinman report in +972 on 6 March 2025:
Ibrahim Mashahra and his family of six have been homeless for over two months now, after he was forced by Israeli authorities to destroy his own house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabal Al-Mukaber.
The Jerusalem Municipality and National Enforcement Unit had threatened to tear down Mashahra’s home since 2018 for “building without a permit.” In December 2024, he received an official demolition order, giving him just three weeks to vacate or demolish the home himself. To salvage some of his young children’s belongings, Mashahra chose the latter. He was still made to pay fines totalling NIS 54,000 ($14,930).
“I was born here in East Jerusalem, but I don’t have the most basic rights,” he told +972. “The situation here is extremely grim.”
Mashahra and his family are not alone in this predicament. While Israel’s brutal campaign in Gaza captured the majority of international attention, state and municipal authorities moved to increase construction plans for Jewish settlements and escalate the speed and scale of demolitions of Palestinian property. Countless Palestinian families across East Jerusalem have been facing the same devastating dilemma: demolish their own homes, or watch as the authorities do it.
According to data collected by Ir Amim, an Israeli non-profit tracking demolitions, 2024 saw a record number of Palestinian home demolitions in East Jerusalem. Most of the 255 structures — 181 of them homes — were destroyed for being built without the necessary permits, which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain. To avoid severe penalties, including heavy fines and even imprisonment, residents had no choice but to carry out 108 of these demolitions themselves.