Occupied Jerusalem, March 29 (SANA) – Israeli authorities are intensifying demolition and eviction measures targeting Palestinian residents in Jerusalem, particularly in the neighborhoods of Batan al-Hawa and al-Bustan, amid growing fears of forced displacement.
According to the Palestinian Safa news agency, residents of Batan al-Hawa face the daily prospect of losing their homes as Israeli authorities issue eviction notices while bulldozers remain on standby to carry out demolition orders.
The British newspaper The Guardian reported that about 175 Palestinians in Batan al-Hawa are at risk of imminent displacement in what it described as the largest coordinated eviction of a Palestinian neighborhood since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967.
Palestinian officials say the measures combine forced evictions, administrative demolition orders and settlement expansion in an effort to alter the demographic composition of the city.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said more than 200 Palestinian families, totaling around 900 people, face the threat of forced eviction, accusing Israeli courts of being used to legitimize what it described as illegal actions against Palestinian residents.
The Jerusalem Governorate said the ongoing measures — including killings, forced evictions, home demolitions and property seizures — form part of a broader campaign aimed at reshaping the demographic and geographic reality of the city.
The United Nations has warned that Israeli occupation policies in Jerusalem risk causing irreversible damage, citing reports documenting 144 Palestinian deaths between 2021 and 2025, more than 11,500 arrests, and over 1,700 demolition operations during that period.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation also condemned Israeli occupation’s seizure of 15 homes in the Silwan area, saying the measures constitute a violation of international law and an escalation of policies aimed at changing the city’s Arab identity and demographic composition.
Kh.A
