Israeli occupation authorities forced a Palestinian resident of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, to tear down his own home on Sunday, continuing a long‑standing policy that leaves families with no choice but to destroy their houses or face crushing financial penalties.
Local sources said Ashraf Burqan was compelled to demolish his 60‑square‑meter home in the Bir Ayoub neighborhood, in Silwan. The house sheltered three members of the Burqan family.
After receiving a demolition order, he was told he could either carry out the demolition himself or pay the high costs of an Israeli municipal crew, in addition to fines already imposed on him.
For many Palestinian families in occupied Jerusalem, this is a familiar and painful pattern. Israeli authorities routinely issue demolition orders under the pretext of “building without a permit,” even though Palestinians are almost universally denied building permits while Israeli colonies continue to expand.
Families are then pressured to destroy their own homes to avoid the enormous fees charged when Israeli bulldozers carry out the demolition.
|Jerusalem: Three Palestinian Families Forced to Demolish Their Homes|
Human rights organizations describe the practice as a form of coercion and forced displacement, designed to push Palestinians out of the city.
Silwan, in particular, has been one of the most heavily targeted neighborhoods, where dozens of homes face demolition orders and residents live under constant threat of losing their property.
For the Burqan family, Sunday’s demolition was not a choice but an ultimatum—one that many Palestinian families in occupied Jerusalem are forced to confront as Israeli authorities continue policies that rights groups say violate international law and amount to collective punishment.
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.
