December 2025 in the city of Jerusalem
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center – Jerusalem issued its monthly report for December, documenting the most prominent Israeli events and violations in Jerusalem, particularly at Al-Aqsa Mosque, including demolitions, forced displacement, and ongoing arrest campaigns.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
In December, Al-Aqsa Mosque continued to witness daily violations and attacks. Hundreds of settlers carried out daily incursions with direct government support and on-the-ground protection from the occupation forces, except on Fridays and Saturdays. These incursions occurred in two shifts each day (morning and afternoon).
Key events and violations at Al-Aqsa:
• The number of settlers who stormed the mosque during December exceeded 6,270.
• The month coincided with Hanukkah, during which 2,779 settlers stormed Al-Aqsa during the week of the holiday.
• Candles were lit at Al-Aqsa three times during Hanukkah week (on the second, seventh, and eighth days).
• Settlers performed public prayers and religious rituals and formed circles for dancing and singing inside the mosque.
• The incursions typically began at the Dung Gate, proceeding through the eastern courtyard to the eastern area adjacent to the Bab al-Rahma prayer area. This area became a central hub for prayers, singing circles, and explanations about the alleged "Temple," accompanied by taking photos and prostrating on the ground. All areas overlooking the Dome of the Rock witnessed public prayers and singing.
• Settlers brought in religious items and clothing specific to prayer, including tallit (prayer shawls) and tefillin (prayer beads), along with religious books and flags representing the alleged "Temple."
• Israeli forces stormed the Al-Qibli prayer hall, photographing worshippers and imams twice, checking their IDs, and searching them.
• The violations included lighting a menorah daily at the Al-Qataneen Gate from the outside, blowing a shofar at the Lions Gate, and lighting an additional menorah.
Forced eviction and displacement of families
In mid-December, the settler organization Ateret Cohanim seized the three-apartment Rajabi residential building, claiming that the land on which the property stands has been owned by Yemeni Jews since the 19th century. The seizure displaced approximately 50 family members.
The Supreme Court also ruled to evict 22 members of the Rajabi families from their homes in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood and gave Khalil Basbous and his son Bilal until the beginning of January to vacate a two-apartment building.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem explained that Ateret Cohanim claims ownership of approximately 5200 square meters of land in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood, alleging that it has belonged to Yemeni Jews since 1881. Since 2015, the organization has been serving families in the neighborhood with notices and legal summonses demanding that they vacate their homes, following its 2001 acquisition of the right to manage what it calls "Jewish Association properties."
The forced displacement continues, supported by Supreme Court rulings, and is escalating to pose a direct threat to the neighborhood's residents.
In December, the occupation municipality confiscated a plot of land measuring approximately 2.5 dunoms belonging to several Jerusalemite families in the village of Issawiya, under the pretext of "public interest."
UNRWA in Jerusalem: Ongoing raids and threats
Following a series of laws and measures that prohibit the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Jerusalem, Israeli occupation forces, accompanied by municipal crews, raided the agency's headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood on December 8, 2025.
The forces detained the four guards inside the headquarters, confiscated their phones, and issued summonses for questioning at the police station (Rooms 4). They also used motorcycles, police vehicles, large trucks, forklifts, and a diesel tanker, and cut off all communications within the headquarters.
During the raid, the UN flag was lowered from the main tower and replaced with the Israeli flag. The forces confiscated furniture and IT equipment, dismantling some metal furniture and transporting it away in their trucks.
At the end of the year, the Knesset plenum approved an amendment to the 2025 law to halt UNRWA's activities, with 59 Knesset members voting in favor and 7 against. The amendment stipulates that electricity and water will not be supplied to any property in UNRWA's name and grants the state the authority to seize lands the agency used in certain compounds.
Injuries
Israeli occupation forces targeted Palestinians attempting to enter Jerusalem with live fire, alleging they were entering the city illegally. More than 50 Palestinians were wounded by gunfire that month.
Arrests
In December 2025, Israeli occupation authorities continued their daily arrest campaigns in Jerusalem, targeting children, teenagers, women, and the elderly, as well as dozens of West Bank ID holders under the pretext of “illegal residency.”
The harassment of Jerusalemite prisoners continued after their release. They were summoned immediately upon completion of their sentences and released to areas far from the prisons without informing their families. Strict restrictions were imposed, preventing families from receiving them, holding gatherings in their honor, or raising Palestinian flags.
Israeli occupation authorities placed Jerusalemite MP Muhammad Abu Teir (75) under administrative detention for four months.
Demolitions and displacement in Jerusalem
The policy of demolition and displacement continued in Jerusalem in December 2025 under the pretext of "building without a permit."
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center – Jerusalem documented 40 demolitions in December, the most prominent of which were:
The demolition of a 13-apartment building in Silwan, displacing approximately 100 people, and the demolition of four homes that had stood for about 60 years in the eastern part of the village of Issawiya.
The methods of demolition varied, including self-demolition, in which families were forced to demolish their own homes to avoid exorbitant fines, and direct demolition, carried out by the occupation municipality's crews, accompanied by Israeli forces.
The occupation authorities also continued issuing demolition orders, stop-work notices, and summonses to appear at the municipality, as part of a systematic policy to empty the city of its Palestinian residents.
