Demolition and attacks: The occupation municipality demolishes an inhabited residential building in Silwan
In a dangerous escalation of demolition policies in Jerusalem, the Israeli municipality carried out a large-scale demolition at dawn on Monday, targeting an inhabited residential building and a commercial establishment in Silwan and Damascus Gate. The operation destroyed 13 apartments and displaced dozens of Jerusalemites, including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, amid a heavy security presence and assaults on residents.
"Al-Wa'ad" Housing... Demolition and displacement
In the Silwan neighborhood, Israeli municipal crews, accompanied by a large number of special forces and police, stormed the Wadi Qaddoum area in the early hours of the morning. They blocked the roads leading to the "Al-Wa'ad" building and imposed a complete cordon around it before raiding the entire building and forcibly evicting its residents.
Israeli occupation forces began demolishing a four-story residential building with 13 apartments, housing at least 80 people, including approximately 25 children, elderly residents, and seven people with disabilities. The demolition displaced entire families in the early morning hours.
According to residents, the building was completed in 2013, and since then, the families who own the apartments have been engaged in a lengthy legal battle to obtain a building permit. This battle has involved continuous court sessions, postponements, and repeated freezes on demolition orders, all under what have been described as "impossible" conditions imposed by the Israeli municipality. The municipality claims the building did not meet licensing requirements and that there is a plan to construct a road in the area.
In 2023, the Israeli municipality issued a final demolition order for the building, under the direct orders of then-Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who instructed the deployment of 500 police officers to secure the demolition. The demolition was later postponed "due to pressure from the US administration," according to Israeli media reports.
Assaults and arrests
Residents reported that Israeli forces assaulted them inside their apartments and forcibly removed them. Several residents were also beaten near the building. The closure of main roads and streets in Wadi Qaddoum and the Silwan neighborhoods disrupted the movement of students to their schools and of employees and workers to their workplaces.
Residents reported that municipal crews, including settlers, assaulted them with beatings and verbal abuse during the demolition.
Israeli forces arrested Amr Mohammad Abu Hatab and Yasser Taha.
Damascus Gate
In a related incident, Israeli municipal crews demolished a commercial building owned by the Castero family in the Damascus Gate area, using manual demolition tools. This action was part of a coordinated campaign targeting the livelihoods of Palestinians in the vicinity of the Old City.
