Israel Escalates Practices to Displace Palestinians From East Jerusalem, Report Claims

Israeli practices aimed at displacing Palestinians from occupied East Jerusalem, seizing their homes and lands for settlement expansion and Judaization of the city, have significantly escalated since 2023. Government ministries and agencies are now more directly and publicly involved in these operations as part of systematic policies targeting the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem.

A new report by the Israeli human rights organization Ir Amim, titled "Displacement: The State's System for Dispossession in East Jerusalem," reveals the involvement of 19 government and public entities across eight Israeli ministries and authorities in the displacement of Palestinians and the confiscation of their property. The report asserts that these operations are no longer solely conducted by settler organizations like Ateret Cohanim and Elad, but that Israeli authorities are directly behind broader dispossession and displacement efforts than those carried out by these groups.

The report details how Israeli ministries and authorities coordinate their roles. The Ministry of Justice, through the "General Receiver" and land registration departments, facilitates the transfer of land and properties to state and settler control. The Ministry of Finance utilizes the "Absentee Property Custodian" powers to seize Palestinian properties. The Ministry of Construction and Housing and the Israel Land Authority advance settlement construction projects on confiscated land, while the Ministry of Interior and planning authorities approve settlement plans and restrict construction in Palestinian neighborhoods.

The Israeli Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage funds and implements settlement projects. The Ministry of National Security, police, and law enforcement agencies participate in demolitions and evictions. The Jerusalem Municipality promotes settlement expansion plans and enforces demolition orders on Palestinian homes. These policies extend throughout East Jerusalem, with particular focus on the Old City and surrounding neighborhoods like Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah, Ras al-Amud, and the Mount of Olives, where families are being displaced, properties seized, and settlement and tourism projects established.

In southeastern Jerusalem, authorities continue to advance plans for new settlements and expand existing ones at the expense of Palestinian lands and neighborhoods. The report warns that six Palestinian neighborhoods face displacement risk: Batn al-Hawa and al-Bustan in Silwan, Umm Haroun in Sheikh Jarrah, Umm Tuba, Walaja, and Al-Numan village. The Jerusalem Municipality seeks to demolish 115 homes in al-Bustan, while all 45 homes in Al-Numan village are under threat of demolition.

Data from the report shows a sharp rise in the demolition of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem. The annual demolition rate increased from approximately 50 housing units before 2019 to 131 units annually since then, reaching 181 units in 2024 alone. Since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, it has confiscated about 35% of its area. The Israel Land Authority has tendered bids for over 60,000 settlement housing units on confiscated land, with no similar tenders issued for construction in Palestinian neighborhoods.

Report co-authors the report co-author and Gal Yanovsky stated that the displacement of Palestinians from East Jerusalem is not limited to settler actions but also occurs through government decisions, urban plans, and legal procedures. They described how seemingly separate administrative steps collectively reveal a clear policy where Israeli authorities leverage their powers to uproot Palestinians and make way for settlements, masking this systematic policy as land ownership disputes or planning disagreements.