On Monday, Israeli occupation forces escalated demolition operations across several areas of the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem and Arab towns inside the 1948 borders. The wide-scale campaign targeted homes, businesses, agricultural structures, and public facilities.
In the village of Budrus, west of Ramallah, occupation forces demolished two homes belonging to brothers Nidal and Ahmad Mahmoud Abdel Khaleq, as well as an agricultural shack. Each house measured about 150 square meters and housed 14 family members, mostly women and children.
Although the homeowners had been notified of the demolition three months ago—and Nidal had filed a legal appeal—the demolition was carried out before any court ruling was issued, in an area located within the village’s designated urban plan.
In the town of Huwara, south of Nablus, Israeli occupation forces demolished a car scrapyard owned by Salama Hamad. This came as part of an ongoing targeting campaign against Palestinian workshops and commercial establishments, depriving families of their livelihoods and undermining their right to work and property.
Similar incidents were reported in Jerusalem, where occupation forces destroyed a farm shed and a park in the town of Mikhmas, in addition to bulldozing a sports field and agricultural lands, and uprooting dozens of trees.
In Hizma, Israeli forces demolished a commercial facility—a car wash and accessories shop—owned by Mohammad Abu Sabah, citing the expansion of a settler road. During the raid, Israeli occupation forces fired tear gas canisters, causing dozens to suffer from suffocation.
In Arraba al-Batuf, inside the 1948 territories, Israeli occupation authorities demolished a house in the western neighborhood under the pretext of unlicensed construction, amid a heavy police presence.
These scenes have become increasingly common in recent months, with repeated demolitions in towns such as Rahat, Tuba-Zangariyye, Jadeida-Makr, Yarka, Zarzir, Acre, Nazareth, Umm al-Fahm, Shefa-Amr, Sakhnin, Ein Mahil, Jaffa, Kafr Qasim, Qalansuwa, Kafr Yasif, Ar’ara, Lod, Hurfeish, Kafr Qara, and multiple villages in the Naqab (Negev) region.
Local residents affirm that the root cause of the increasing demolitions is Israel occupation’s refusal to expand zoning plans for Arab communities, deliberately rendering thousands of homes “unauthorized” and subject to demolition.
These practices reflect a systematic policy aimed at undermining the right to adequate housing and enforcing forced evictions without legal safeguards. Whether in the West Bank, Jerusalem, or the 1948 territories, repeated demolitions are part of a broader effort to restrict Palestinian urban planning, block natural population growth, and ignore communities’ basic needs for housing, work, and land ownership.
Moreover, the demolitions are carried out without offering alternative housing or compensation, severely impacting the safety and socio-economic stability of affected families. These discriminatory practices deepen inequality and erode any semblance of spatial justice under the same governing authority.
The ongoing demolitions represent a significant escalation in Israel occupation’s policy of displacement, turning daily life for Palestinians into one of constant instability and housing insecurity. This approach exacerbates social and economic crises and highlights the urgent need for international intervention to halt these violations and protect the basic rights of civilian populations.
