Jerusalem [Israel], December 23: Israeli forces have stormed towns in the occupied West Bank and demolished a residential building.
Soldiers fired stun grenades and tear gas on Monday as they carried out the demolition in East Jerusalem. Palestinian officials accused Israel of a campaign of displacement in the city, saying the operation was part of a systematic attempt to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their land.
Scores of Palestinians were displaced as Israeli bulldozers tore through a four-storey residential building. Activists called it the largest such demolition in the area this year.
Three bulldozers destroyed the building with 13 apartments in the Wadi Qaddum neighbourhood of the Silwan district, south of Jerusalem's Old City, Al Jazeera Arabic correspondents reported. Israeli forces cordoned off surrounding roads, deployed heavily across the area and positioned security personnel on the rooftops of neighbouring houses. During the operation, a young man and a teenage boy were arrested.
Residents were told the demolition order was issued because the building had been constructed without a permit.
Palestinians face severe obstacles in obtaining building permits due to Israel's restrictive planning policies, activists say, a policy that they assert is part of a systematic attempt to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their land.
Israel's security cabinet has recently approved the recognition of 19 new settlements in the West Bank, expanding the total number approved this year to 69 as the government continues its settlement push.
The Jerusalem governorate, affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, condemned the demolition. "The building's destruction is part of a systematic policy aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinian residents and emptying the city of its original inhabitants," the governorate said in a statement.
"Any demolition that expels residents from their homes constitutes a clear occupation plan to replace the land's owners with settlers." The Jerusalem municipality, an Israeli authority whose jurisdiction over East Jerusalem is not recognised under international law, said the demolition was based on a 2014 court order. Israeli human rights groups Ir Amim and Bimkom said the demolition was carried out without warning despite a scheduled meeting on Monday to discuss steps to legalise the building.
"This is part of an ongoing policy. This year alone, around 100 East Jerusalem families have lost their homes," the groups said, calling Monday's demolition the largest of 2025.
Source: Qatar Tribune
