Activists say Israel tries to expel a whole Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem

Fakhri Abu Diab, 62, has lived his entire life in Silwan, an East Jerusalem neighborhood, but now faces eviction after Israeli authorities demolished his family home two years ago for lacking proper building permits. The original structure predated Israel’s 1967 occupation, but later expansions were deemed illegal by the Jerusalem municipality, a challenge Palestinians often face in obtaining permits. Abu Diab, an activist fighting to preserve Silwan, now lives in a small trailer in his family’s courtyard, where demolition rubble remains. He received a new eviction notice from the municipality, claiming the land is needed for settler parking and gardens. ‘They want to take our land,’ he said, accusing authorities of a political agenda to displace Palestinians. Hundreds of Palestinians in Silwan are being pushed out to make way for Israeli settlers and religious sites near Jerusalem’s Old City walls. New settler homes have been built amid piles of rubble, escalating tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The UN’s International Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank is unlawful, though Israel rejects this, considering East Jerusalem part of its capital. Israeli peace activist Angela Godfrey-Goldstein highlighted the disparity in living conditions between Palestinian families and settler homes, which she described as ‘a horrible, sinister cause of pain.’ The displacement has accelerated under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government, which includes settler cabinet ministers. Human rights organizations like B’Tselem and UN experts have condemned Israel’s actions as ethnic cleansing, backed by state forces. The conflict over Silwan reflects broader struggles for control of land and sovereignty in Jerusalem, a flashpoint in decades of Israeli-Palestinian tensions.