A series of demolitions in occupied East Jerusalem is uprooting Palestinian families and intensifying long-standing tensions over land, housing and control of the city, according to residents, rights groups and diplomats who spoke to the BBC.
In the al-Bustan area of Silwan, just below the al-Aqsa mosque compound, excavators have been tearing down homes that Israel says were built without permits. Palestinian residents told the BBC that the demolitions are part of a wider plan to turn their crowded neighbourhood into an archaeological and recreational park. One father said his children watched from the street as the house they had grown up in was reduced to rubble, telling the reporter that “they destroyed the future” of his family.
Israeli planning officials argue that the area has been designated for development for years and that enforcement action targets illegal construction, regardless of nationality or religion. The BBC quoted local Palestinians and Israeli NGOs as countering that building permits for Palestinians in East Jerusalem are extremely hard to obtain, leaving many families with little choice but to expand their homes without formal approval.
Rights organisation Bimkom, cited by the BBC, has documented what it describes as systematic under-planning in Palestinian districts of the city, combined with large-scale designation of land for parks, roads and Israeli settlements. Its researchers say this pattern has left Palestinian communities with severe overcrowding, frequent demolition orders and virtually no room to grow.
Similar disputes are playing out in other parts of East Jerusalem. In the Old City, members of the Basha family face eviction from a building that once housed a Jewish religious school, or yeshiva, and where their relatives were appointed as guards almost a century ago. The BBC reported that an Israeli court has ruled that the current yeshiva can reclaim the property and expand its facilities, a decision the family is appealing. Elderly residents told the reporter that they have nowhere else to go and fear losing the only home they have ever known.
Israeli officials insist that such cases are questions of property law rather than attempts at demographic engineering. However, Israeli groups such as Ir Amim, quoted by the BBC, argue that planning decisions, evictions and demolitions are working together to entrench what they call Jewish dominance over key areas of the city while pushing Palestinians to the margins.
The European Union recently described the situation in East Jerusalem, and Silwan in particular, as “dire” and reiterated its opposition to Israel’s settlement policy and related measures. Diplomats touring demolished neighbourhoods told the BBC they are monitoring whether Israel’s actions comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law, which restricts the destruction of civilian property in occupied territory.
For families facing losing their homes, the broader legal and diplomatic debate feels distant. Community organisers say parents are struggling to keep children in school, cover rent elsewhere in the city or even find available apartments, given what rights groups describe as a severe housing shortage in Palestinian neighbourhoods. Elderly residents displaced from long-time family homes told the BBC they fear they will not live to see any political resolution, and instead are focused on finding a bed in which to spend their remaining years.
Israeli authorities frame their actions as enforcing local regulations and preserving heritage sites. Palestinians and many international observers see a different picture: one in which planning rules, court rulings and police-backed demolitions are steadily reshaping East Jerusalem’s map, often at the expense of those who have lived there for generations.
