An Israeli court has issued a final decision to demolish 84 homes in the Wadi Yasul neighborhood of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem, or al-Quds as it is known in Arabic.
Ziad Kawar, the lawyer representing the people of the neighbourhood, has said that he will file an appeal against the decision, with another session set for 18 November.
Wadi Yasoul extends over an area of approximately 300 acres, and is home to 1,050 Jerusalemites.
Silwan lies alongside Jerusalem’s historic wall, and is to the south of the al-Aqsa Mosque. The town is now comprised of 12 neighborhoods with a total area of approximately 5,500 acres.
59,000 Jerusalemites live in Silwan, in addition to 2,800 settlers, placed there by the occupying force across 78 colonial outposts.
Silwan had previously extended to the Khan al-Ahmar area between Jerusalem and Jericho – an area once referred to as Khan al-Salawneh – before the occupying force confiscated the bulk of those lands.
In August of this year, an occupation court paused an order to demolish 56 homes in Silwan’s al-Bustan neighborhood until early next year. However, the same court upheld demolition orders against 16 homes.
The ultimate aim of the policy of demolishing (or seizing) homes and after expelling their residents, is to empty Silwan of Palestinians, partly due to its vital location south of al-Aqsa Mosque.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory has documented the Israeli army’s demolition of 698 buildings – and the displacement of 949 Palestinians – in “Area C” of the occupaied West Bank and East Jerusalem, just from from the beginning of 2021 until 18 October.
