In a serious escalation that falls within the framework of systematic forced displacement, Israeli occupation authorities on Wednesday issued new demolition orders targeting all the homes in the village of Al-Naaman, located east of Bethlehem. The move threatens to completely displace the residents and erase the village from the map.
Jamal Al-Dar’awi, head of the Al-Naaman village council, stated that occupation police, accompanied by employees from the Jerusalem municipality, stormed the village in the morning and distributed demolition notices affecting all 35 homes in the village, which are divided into 45 residential units. The pretext given was “construction without a permit.”
This marks the third time since the start of the year that such demolition orders have been issued, in what appears to be preparation for a large-scale demolition operation.
Al-Dar’awi explained that all the homes are currently inhabited, with some dating back 75 years and the newest having stood for 35 years, thus undermining the legal excuse often cited by the occupation, namely that of “new” or “unlicensed” construction.
A specialist lawyer is currently handling the village’s legal file in an effort to halt the demolition process, while residents are racing against time to save their homes and maintain their presence on the land.
The village of Al-Naaman is home to around 150 people living on approximately 1,500 dunams of land. However, they have been denied the right to build for over 32 years due to restrictions imposed by the occupation. These restrictions have led to the displacement of around 100 residents over the past decades, as part of policies aimed at emptying the land of its original inhabitants.
Al-Dar’awi added that the occupation seeks to annex the village to the boundaries of Jerusalem municipality, thereby imposing a de facto reality through force. He noted that two years ago, an Israeli court imposed retroactive “Arnona” (municipal property tax) payments on the residents for the previous six years, forcing them to pay between 30,000 and 60,000 shekels per home.
Al-Naaman lies roughly 4.5 km east of Bethlehem. It is bordered by the village of Al-Khas to the east, the town of Sur Baher in occupied Jerusalem to the north, and Beit Sahour to the west and south. Its location makes it a strategic area that the occupation seeks to fully absorb into its settlement expansion plans and link geographically to the Jerusalem municipality.
What is happening to the residents of Al-Naaman can only be described as a crime of slow, systematic forced displacement carried out under a false legal façade. The deliberate denial of the right to build, followed by punishment for “unauthorised” construction, illustrates how the occupation employs legal and administrative tools to tighten its grip on Palestinians, pressuring them to leave their land under severe legal and living conditions.
These policies stand in direct violation of international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from destroying property or forcibly transferring civilians from their land. Furthermore, attempts to alter the demographic character of occupied territory constitute a crime under international law.
The planned mass demolition of homes in Al-Naaman, many of which have existed for decades, is yet more proof that the objective is not urban planning, but rather the cleansing of land in favour of annexation and settlement expansion; a clear path of creeping annexation and silent encroachment that continues to consume Palestinian villages, one after another.
