On Monday evening, Israeli occupation authorities forced a Palestinian Jerusalemite man to self‑demolish his home in the town of Silwan, south of occupied Jerusalem, in the West Bank.
The Jerusalem Governorate said the authorities compelled Khalil Abed‑Badran, a resident of the Al‑Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, to carry out the demolition himself to avoid the heavy fines the Jerusalem municipality imposes if its crews perform the demolition.
The home, built in 2018, measured approximately 100 square meters, and housed four family members.
Since 2023, the municipality has issued financial penalties totaling 48,000 shekels against Badran as part of its ongoing policy of pressuring Palestinians and forcing them to self‑demolish their homes to avoid exorbitant fees.
Silwan, located just south of the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, has been one of the most heavily targeted Palestinian neighborhoods for more than two decades.
Israeli authorities and colonizer organizations have issued hundreds of demolition orders in the area, particularly in the Al‑Bustan neighborhood, where more than 1,500 Palestinians live under constant threat of displacement.
Al‑Bustan has been designated for a large‑scale colonial project marketed as the “King’s Garden,” a plan advanced by settler groups seeking to expand Israeli control around the Old City and the Al‑Aqsa Mosque.
To clear the area, the municipality issues demolition orders under the pretext of “building without a permit,” despite the well‑documented fact that Palestinians in Jerusalem are systematically denied building permits, forcing them to build without authorization to meet basic housing needs.
Because the municipality imposes extremely high demolition fees—often tens of thousands of shekels—many Palestinian families are coerced into self‑demolishing their homes to avoid financial ruin. This policy has become a central tool in the broader effort to pressure Palestinians to leave the city.
Since 2004, Silwan has faced a steady expansion of illegal Israeli colonies and colonizer‑run tourist sites, including the “City of David” project, which has accelerated land seizures, home demolitions, and forced displacement.
Human rights organizations, including Israeli groups, have repeatedly stated that these measures form part of a systematic campaign to alter the demographic and cultural identity of Jerusalem and entrench Israeli control over Palestinian neighborhoods surrounding the Old City.
The demolition of Khalil Abdul‑Badran’s home reflects this long‑running pattern of targeted demolitions in Al‑Bustan, financial penalties designed to force self‑demolition, and the expansion of settler presence in Silwan as part of broader policies aimed at reducing the Palestinian population in the city.
Silwan remains one of the most targeted areas in Jerusalem, where Palestinian families face continuous pressure, legal battles, and repeated demolitions as part of Israel’s strategy to reshape the landscape around the Old City.
While Israel continues to build and expand its illegal colonies, Palestinian communities and towns in occupied Jerusalem and various areas in the occupied West Bank continue to be denied the right to build homes and property under various allegations meant to prevent the expansion of Palestinian towns and neighborhoods.
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 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits collective punishment and acts of terror against civilian populations.
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”.
Articles 53 and 147, prohibit the destruction of civilian property and classify pillage as a war crime.
