Shattered Lives in East Jerusalem: The Largest Forced Displacement of 2025

The streets of Silwan, a neighborhood bordering the Old City of East Jerusalem, witnessed a humanitarian catastrophe this Monday as Israeli authorities demolished a four-story residential building. This operation, described by human rights organizations as the largest of its kind in 2025, has left over 100 Palestinians—comprising ten families—homeless and destitute. The demolition, carried out under the pretext of "unauthorized construction," has been denounced by the Jerusalem Governorate as a strategic pillar of a "systematic policy of forced displacement."

Witness testimonies paint a harrowing picture of the dawn raid. Eid Shawar, a resident and father of five, recounted how police broke down doors while families were asleep, giving them no time to salvage furniture or personal belongings beyond essential documents. With no alternative housing provided, many are now forced to take refuge in their vehicles. While the Jerusalem Municipality maintains that the building lacked permits and sits on land zoned for "recreation and sports," activists argue that the restrictive permit regime makes legal construction nearly impossible for Palestinians, effectively weaponizing urban planning to alter the city's demographic landscape.