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by IMEMC News
Sep 18, 2024

On Wednesday, the Jerusalem Governorate office reported that Israeli occupation authorities have carried out 320 demolitions targeting Palestinian homes and structures in the occupied capital, in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023.

In its report, the Governorate stated that more than 87 demolitions occurred in Silwan town, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Speaking to WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency, the Governorate representative said, “Each demolition involves the destruction of multiple homes and commercial establishments, resulting in the displacement and loss of income for thousands of residents.”

The Governorate highlighted that over 30,000 properties in Jerusalem remain under threat of demolition, potentially displacing and economically impacting approximately 100,000 Jerusalemites.

The report also noted that the authorities in the occupied capital are accelerating the demolitions of homes, stores, and structures, adding that many homes and structures are being demolished without prior notice or awaiting a “judicial” decision after residents filed appeals with the city and Israeli courts.

Silwan, in particular, is facing systematic violations, especially in the neighborhoods of Al-Bustan, Wadi Ar-Rababa, and Wadi Qaddoum, due to their proximity to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Israeli authorities plan to demolish these areas to establish what they call “biblical gardens,” a front for more destruction, colonization, and theft of Palestinian lands.

The demolitions are not limited to areas within Jerusalem but also extend to the towns of Hizma, Anata, and Ar-Ram, as part of colonial projects to expand the illegal colonies in and around Jerusalem.

All of Israel’s colonies in the occupied West Bank, including those in and around occupied East Jerusalem, are illegal under International Law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions. They also constitute war crimes under International Law.

Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention states: “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.” It also prohibits the “individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory.”

|The “American Road Project, constructed over the ruins of Palestinian homes, demolished residences, and confiscated lands, stretches about 12 kilometers, devouring everything in its path to facilitate the lives of illegal colonizers and create segregated roads between the colonies.|

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