occupied east Jerusalem – When Israeli authorities arrived at the doorstep of occupied East Jerusalem on February 14, Fakhri Abu Diab didn't have time to pack his belongings. Police first evicted the family and then ordered bulldozers to demolish the home.
“All my memories are in that house,” said Abu Diab, 62, who was born and raised there. “There was even a picture of her mother holding me when I was a child. It was on the wall at home, but now it's gone.”
Following Israel's devastating war against Gaza, the city of Jerusalem was annexed by Israel from the occupied West Bank in 1967 and is home to most of Jerusalem's 362,000 Palestinians, to the east of the city. The city is intensifying its efforts to demolish houses.
In the first nine months of 2023, Israel destroyed a total of 97 Palestinian homes. However, since Hamas attacked Israeli communities and military outposts in southern Israel on October 7 last year, there has been a In Jerusalem, 87 homes were reportedly demolished.
Activists and experts say the surge in demolition is an attempt by the Jerusalem municipality to use the world's attention on the Gaza Strip, where nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, to expel more Palestinians from East Jerusalem. It is said that this suggests that
“these [demolitions] Although carried out under the guise of law enforcement and as if it were a bureaucratic measure, it is actually a form of state violence and serves as a displacement mechanism to drive Palestinians out of the city. “There is,” said director Amy Cohen. International Relations and the Defense of Il Amim.
organized violence
Israel has justified its demolition of Palestinian housing in East Jerusalem by claiming it was built without permission. Municipalities typically permit new housing construction only in majority Jewish neighborhoods.
Legal discrimination forces Palestinians to build without permits, and 28 percent of Palestinian housing in East Jerusalem is “illegal.”
Israeli authorities have ordered much of it to be demolished, said Daniel Seideman, an Israeli lawyer who specializes in legal and public affairs in East Jerusalem.
“Before the war, there were about 20,000 outstanding demolition orders, and those orders never expired,” Seidemann told Al Jazeera.
Destruction of housing is prohibited by international law unless necessary for military operations. But Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, said Israel has created a legal framework that allows the destruction of Palestinian homes.
“There are different mechanisms[for forcing destruction]each ultimately promoting the same objective of displacing Palestinians from their land and maximizing its use for Jewish Israelis. '' he told Al Jazeera.
Since October 7, Palestinians in East Jerusalem have become significantly more fearful of losing their homes, Seideman said. He pointed to a perceived increase in racist rhetoric and violent harassment directed at Palestinians by Israeli politicians and security officials.
“Due to the current tense atmosphere, [Palestinians to think that] If a demolition order is issued, the house may be demolished. [destroyed] Next,” he said.
send message
Experts and activists say the demolition of Abu Diab's home has exacerbated this fear.
Mr. Abu Diab is himself a human rights activist and the elected spokesperson for East Jerusalem's Silwan district, which represents some 60,000 Palestinians. Residents trust him to speak out against the housing destruction and other forms of systematic discrimination that Palestinians face from the Israeli occupation authorities.
“This is not the first time Israelis have targeted him,” said Abu Diab and Angela God, co-director of Jahalin Solidarity, a local organization that seeks to prevent the displacement of Palestinians. Free-Goldstein said. “At one point he was in jail and at another time his son was arrested. The message was, 'Tell your dad to shut up.'
“I then asked Abu Diab. [Israel] If he stopped speaking up, we demolished his house. He said, “I'm going to be more vocal from now on,'''' Godfrey-Goldstein told Al Jazeera.
![Fakhri Abu Diab drinks tea and greets a friend at Al Aqsa Mosque [Mat Nashed/Al Jazeera]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/20240223_134141-1708766797.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C578)
Palestinian and Israeli activists believe that advocacy to protect Palestinian homes is needed now more than ever. As local elections approach on February 27, Abu Diab suspects candidates are deliberately seeking to demolish more houses to appeal to voters.
He said he was concerned that far-right candidate Arie King, who is currently Jerusalem's deputy mayor, could become the next mayor. King has previously said he aims to limit Palestinian housing construction to protect Israel's character as a Jewish state. In December, he wrote a post on X in which he called Palestinians “subhuman.”
“If Dr. King becomes the next mayor in the next election, the situation will get much tougher. He has openly threatened to destroy Palestinian homes and kill Palestinians,” Abu Diab said. .
“There will be a reaction.”
Abu Diab said he owed his life to Godfrey-Goldstein and other activists who quickly alerted journalists and human rights organizations when police raided his home. He believes police could have seriously injured or killed him had it not been for the people who came to video the demolition.
“My wife was sleeping when about 20 or 30 police officers rushed in. We are traumatized by what we went through,” he told Al Jazeera.
However, although Abu Diab survived, he and his family (children and grandchildren) are now homeless. He told Al Jazeera that he sleeps at the homes of friends and relatives in the community and moves frequently from residence to residence.
Abu Diab also worries that he will not be able to pay for the demolition. Israeli authorities typically require Palestinian residents to pay for the bulldozing of their homes and the salaries of police officers sent to evacuate residents and secure the premises.
Abu Diab said he expects the total bill to be between $20,000 and $30,000. But his immediate priority is finding new homes for his grandchildren. The grandchildren are too young to understand why they became homeless.
His 2-year-old granddaughter recently asked him why the police had destroyed his house. She said he didn't know how to answer.
Abu Diab is trying to stay strong for his family, but worries about the future and if Israeli authorities continue to ramp up home destruction, it will eventually lead to anger among Palestinians in East Jerusalem. I warned you.
“There will be a reaction,” he told Al Jazeera. “People can't stand this for long.”
