According to human rights groups’ investigations, from the start of 2021 until the end of September, Israeli occupation forces have demolished approximately 241 homes and other properties in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem (or al-Quds, as it is known in Arabic), rendering numerous Palestinian families homeless, including children and the elderly.
Since the start of 2021, demolitions and “Judaisation” have increased by 38% as compared to the same period in 2020, according to European Union (EU) estimates.
In combination with its support for illegal settlement projects, such house demolitions show that Israel’s aim is to entirely displace Palestinians from their lands.
In depriving Palestinians of their right to housing, travel, and life, the occupation authorities blatantly violate the rights guaranteed to Palestinians under international law – in order to continue the settlement and Judaisation of historic Palestine.
In an urgent appeal, Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) has said that such practices are part of a wider project to Judaise all of Jerusalem, one which the occupation has been pursuing since the 1948 war. Every illegal tactic has been employed to rid the occupied city of any sign of Palestinian life.
AOHR UK again emphasises the urgent need to submit all files related to the mass destruction of Palestinian homes to the International Criminal Court (ICC), in order to hold all those responsible accountable for these criminal acts of displacement, including those Israeli judges who play such a crucial role in enabling settlers’ control over Palestinians’ property in al-Quds.
