Demolitions in Jerusalem area, May 2022: Israeli authorities demolish 29 structures; 59 people, including 30 minors, lose homes

Throughout May 2022, on orders of the Jerusalem Municipality and the Civil Administration, 29 structures were demolished in the parts of the West Bank annexed to Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries and in adjacent areas lying within the al-Quds District of the Palestinian Authority. The demolished structures included 20 homes, six of which were demolished by their owners. Twelve were inhabited, and their demolition left 59 people, including 30 minors, homeless. Eight additional homes were under construction and slated to house a family of seven, including one minor, and for the future residence of five newly-wed young men. A part of another demolished house under construction was slated to house a young couple.

Another nine non-residential structures were demolished, including five used for businesses that supported at least 45 people.

Demolitions:

On Saturday, 7 May 2022, a family from the neighborhood of Zur Baher in East Jerusalem was forced to demolish an apartment under construction on the second floor of a building slated to house a young man after his marriage, following a demolition order issued by the municipality.

On Monday, 9 May 2022, at around 9:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military escort and a bulldozer at the village of Jaba’ in al-Quds District and demolished a house under construction intended for a family of seven, including five minors.

On Tuesday, 10 May 2022, at around 8:00 A.M., Jerusalem Municipality personnel arrived with a Border Police escort and a bulldozer at the neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem. The forces demolished a three-story building that was home to four families from the same extended family, numbering 15 people in total, including six minors. The first floor of the building was leased until early 2022 and served as an HMO clinic.

That day, municipality personnel arrived with a military escort and a bulldozer at the neighborhood of ‘Ein al-Jawizeh in the part of the village of al-Walajah annexed to Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries, and demolished a house under construction slated to house a young man after his marriage.

On Wednesday, 11 May 2022, at around 6:00 A.M., municipality personnel arrived with an Israel Police and Border Police escort and a bulldozer at the neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukabber in East Jerusalem and demolished a structure that served as the office of a construction company, which supports a family of 10.

From there, the forces continued to the neighborhood of al-‘Esawiyah in East Jerusalem, where they demolished parts of an apartment under construction on the fourth floor of a building, slated to house a young man after his marriage.

That day, two families from one extended family, numbering 11 people in total, including six minors, were forced to demolish their own homes in the neighborhood of Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem following a demolition order issued by the municipality.

Also that day, a family from the neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem, numbering seven people, including five minors, was forced to demolish its own home following a demolition order issued by the municipality.

On Saturday, 14 May 2022, a resident of al-‘Esawiyah was forced to demolish a house he had begun building towards his upcoming marriage, following a demolition order issued by the municipality.

That day, a family from the neighborhood of Zur Baher in East Jerusalem, numbering five people, including three minors, was forced to demolish its own home following a demolition order issued by the municipality.

On Monday, 16 May 2022, at around 5:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military escort and a bulldozer at the town of a-Za’ayem in al-Quds District. The forces demolished a shack under construction slated to house a family of six, including four minors, as well as two agricultural structures, a portable toilet and a livestock pen.

On Tuesday, 17 May 2022, at around 5:00 A.M., municipality personnel arrived with a Border Police escort and a bulldozer at the neighborhood of Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem and demolished a shack used as an office and a warehouse for an air-conditioning company that supports four families.

That day, at around 5:00 A.M., municipality personnel arrived with an Israel Police and Border Police escort at the neighborhood of Shu’fat in East Jerusalem and demolished a container that served as a plant nursery, as well as a carwash facility and a fence. The forces also leveled the ground on the site. Three families, numbering 20 people in total, lived off running the plant nursery and carwash.

On Wednesday, 18 May 2022, a resident of the neighborhood of Zur Baher in East Jerusalem was forced to demolish a home he had begun building for his upcoming marriage, following a demolition order issued by the municipality.

On Thursday, 19 May 2022, at around 5:00 A.M., Civil Administration personnel arrived with a military escort and a bulldozer at the neighborhood of Wadi al-Hummus, the eastern extension of Zur Baher in East Jerusalem. The forces demolished two apartments under construction, one slated to house a family of seven, including one minor, and the other intended for one of the family’s sons after his marriage.

On Saturday, 21 May 2022, a couple from the neighborhood of Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem was forced to demolish its own home following an order issued by the municipality.

On Wednesday, 25 May 2022, at around 11:00 A.M., municipality personnel arrived with an Israel Police and Border Police escort at the neighborhood of Beit Safafa in East Jerusalem and demolished the neighboring homes of two families numbering 13 people in total, including eight minors.

On Tuesday, 31 May 2022, a family of six, including two minors, from the ‘Ein al-Jawizeh neighborhood in the part of the village of al-Walajah annexed to Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries, was forced to demolish its own home following an order issued by the municipality.