Demolitions in Jerusalem area, February 2022: Israeli authorities demolish 17 structures; 40 people, including 19 minors, lose homes

Throughout February 2022, on orders of the Jerusalem Municipality and the Civil Administration, 17 structures were demolished in the parts of the West Bank annexed to Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries and in adjacent areas lying within the al-Quds District of the Palestinian Authority. The demolished structures included three apartments under construction slated to house three families of 11 in total, including five minors, and six inhabited homes (four of which were demolished by their owners) that housed 29 people, including 14 minors, who were left homeless. In addition, a family of 10, including six minors, was forced to demolish three rooms added to its home. Eight non-residential structures were also demolished. 

Demolitions:

On Tuesday, 1 February 2022, a young couple was forced to demolish the home they had begun building for their upcoming marriage in the neighborhood of Silwan, following a demolition order issued by the municipality. The house was still under construction.

That day, two families, numbering 9 people in total, including five minors, were forced to demolish the shared house they had begun building in the neighborhood of al-‘Esawiyah in East Jerusalem, following a demolition order issued by the municipality.

The next day, Wednesday, 2 February 2022, Civil Administration personnel came with a military escort to‘Anata in al-Quds District and demolished a hardware store and a two-dunam paved lot belonging to a family of 12.

On Friday, 11 February 2022, a young couple were forced to demolish their own home in the neighborhood of Ras al-‘Amud, following a demolition order issued by the municipality.

On Saturday, 12 February 2022, two families, numbering 12 people in total, including eight minors, were forced to demolish their shared two-story home in the neighborhood of Zur Baher, following a demolition order issued by the municipality.

On Tuesday, 15 February 2022, Jerusalem Municipality personnel came with Israel Police and Border Police officers and equipped with a bulldozer to the neighborhood of Beit Hanina and demolished a new commercial structure that was not yet in use.

On Thursday, 17 February 2022, Civil Administration personnel came with Border Police officers and equipped with a bulldozer to the neighborhood of Wadi a-Dam in Beit Hanina, which lies outside Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries, and demolished the office of a moving company that supports four families, numbering 20 people in total, including 10 minors.

On Friday, 18 February 2022, a family of 10, including six minors, was forced to demolish three rooms added to its home in the neighborhood of al-‘Esawiyah, following a demolition order issued by the municipality.

On Monday, 21 February 2022, Jerusalem Municipality personnel came with Israel Police and Border Police officers and equipped with a bulldozer to in the neighborhood of al-‘Esawiyah, and demolished a stable belonging to a family of five and a room that served the family, which included a kitchenette and toilet.

On Thursday, 24 February 2022, Civil Administration personnel arrived with soldiers and equipped with bulldozers to ‘Anata in al-Quds District, and demolished the two homes of two families numbering nine people in total, including five minors, a hardware store that included an office and a warehouse reestablished by the owner after the store was demolished on 2 February 2022, and a guest room belonging to another family.

On Saturday, 26 February, a family of six, including one minor, was forced to demolish its own home in the neighborhood of Jabal al-Mukabber, following a demolition order issued by the municipality.