The United Nations Office for Human Rights has urged the Israeli occupation to immediately cease its decision to demolish homes and forcibly displace 1,550 Palestinians in the Al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem, highlighting that the Israeli authorities have threatened to destroy the neighborhood, thereby violating international humanitarian law, with the aim of creating a park next to an illegal Israeli settlement in the heart of the city.
According to the United Nations Information Center, the UN office confirmed that thousands of Palestinians are at risk of demolition and forced eviction in other areas of Silwan due to Israeli planning and zoning laws and policies that are illegally and discriminatorily applied against Palestinians, supporting Israeli settlers’ efforts to take control of this strategic area surrounding the Old City of Jerusalem.
The office noted that approximately 116 Palestinian homes are threatened with demolition, following the resumption of demolition operations by Israeli authorities in the area.
Despite ongoing clashes in Gaza, the Human Rights Office pointed out that Israeli authorities have expedited the process of demolishing Palestinian homes and forcibly displacing them, as well as expanding settlements in East Jerusalem, raising concerns of collective punishment following the events of October 7th.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israeli authorities in 2023 demolished 229 Palestinian-owned structures, including 138 homes, displacing 635 Palestinians. This represents a sharp increase compared to 149 structures demolished and 347 individuals displaced in 2022, marking the highest statistics since the UN began tracking demolition operations in 2009.
The office emphasized that international humanitarian law prohibits Israel, as an occupying power, from imposing its own laws on occupied land, including East Jerusalem. This includes the use of Israeli laws to expel Palestinians, which are inherently discriminatory against Palestinians and clearly violate Israel’s international human rights obligations.
The office urged Israel to cease the application of discriminatory domestic laws aimed at destroying Palestinian property and expelling Palestinians from their homes, calling on the international community to intensify efforts to prevent home demolitions and the forced transfer of Palestinians from within and outside East Jerusalem.
Inas Hamdan, the acting Director of the UNRWA Media Office, stressed that the Gaza Strip is suffering from a significant outbreak of diseases, including gastrointestinal and skin diseases, amid a shortage of healthcare services. She mentioned on the “Cairo News Channel” that the quantity of aid entering the Strip is limited, and the humanitarian situation is worsening with a shortage of food supplies and an increase in the number of displaced persons, alongside the collapse of medical centers and hospitals, with only a few operational, leading to casualties and a large number of injuries.
Hamdan explained that the commercial sector in Gaza is nearly collapsed, with no available places to purchase goods, and due to the scarcity of supplies, prices are increasing while most of the Palestinian population lacks the financial ability to purchase. She appealed for more relief aid to enable UNRWA to provide relief services in the Gaza Strip.
