Jerusalemite Omar Abu Rajab never imagined that he would destroy the fruits of his life’s labor with his own hands, and that his dreams and memories would turn to rubble, after the Israeli occupation municipality forced him to demolish his house forcibly in the Al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan, south of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.Abu Rajab experienced painful moments during the demolition of his house, which ended with him and his wife being displaced, and his house being turned into ruins that hold the remnants of a life and memories that have become dust.
Pain and sufferingAbu Rajab told Safa News Agency: “In compliance with the occupation municipality’s decision, I was forced to demolish my house myself, to avoid paying the municipality’s demolition costs, in case its machinery carried out the demolition, despite the pain and inner anguish that this entails.”He adds, “You can imagine how a person destroys his home, and the toil of his life, with his own hands, in a cruel moment that summarizes years of hardship and displacement for the second time.”This is the second time his house has been demolished, after it was previously demolished in the Wadi Yasul neighborhood of Silwan, which forced him to build another house in the Al-Bustan neighborhood on an area of 45 square meters, in which he and his wife lived, before the occupation municipality issued a final decision to demolish it himself, so that he would be displaced again.He points out that the occupation municipality imposed fines on him starting in 2020 with a value of 40,000 shekels, then a second fine last Ramadan with a value of 24,000 shekels.
Israeli threat Abu Rajab continues, “The occupation authorities are always making our lives miserable, not only with demolitions, but also with raids, arrests, threats, psychological pressure, and the forced displacement that the holy city witnesses daily.”Jerusalemites find themselves forced to demolish their homes themselves, in order to avoid paying exorbitant fines imposed by the occupation municipality if the demolition is carried out by its machinery.The Qwaider family in Al-Bustan neighborhood faces the risk of losing their residential building, which has been standing since 1970, after the municipality informed the family of an 11-day deadline to carry out the demolition, knowing that 11 individuals live inside it, including the elderly, children and people with special needs.The family began carrying out a “self-demolition” of the two apartments on the top floor, which belong to the brothers Mahmoud and Abdul Qwaider, and are inhabited by 5 people. Thousands of Jerusalemites live in the occupied city under a constant Israeli threat of having their homes and businesses demolished, after the occupation municipality issued demolition orders against them or forced them to demolish them themselves.“Self-demolition” is considered one of the harshest and worst forms of collective punishment imposed on Jerusalemites, due to the negative psychological and economic effects it has on them.
Unprecedented escalationRecently, the pace of “self-demolition” in the city of Jerusalem, particularly in the town of Silwan, has escalated to unprecedented levels, according to Fakhri Abu Diab, a member of the Silwan Land Defense Committee.Abu Diab explained in an exclusive interview with Safa News Agency that the occupation municipality and its police have recently escalated their policy of forced demolition and pressure on Jerusalemites to force them to demolish their homes with their own hands.It shows that the policy of “self-demolition” has increased by more than 300% compared to last year, 2025, amid the worsening economic suffering of the people of Jerusalem, due to the systematic occupation measures, and the policy of siege and closures, which it pursues from time to time, to escalate its aggression against the city and its people.Since the beginning of this year, the occupation municipality has forced more than 43 Jerusalemites to demolish their homes with their own hands, and the number is expected to rise to more than 100 homes by the end of the year.Abu Diab asserts that the occupation uses the policy of “self-demolition” as a systematic tool to break the will and steadfastness of the Jerusalemites, to humiliate them, and to drain them materially and psychologically, which increases the pressures on them and exacerbates their suffering, in light of the difficult economic conditions they live in.According to the Jerusalem researcher, the occupation seeks to displace Jerusalemites from their city, in preparation for emptying it completely of its original inhabitants, in order to replace them with settlers.He points out that the city of Jerusalem is witnessing an Israeli aggression that does not stop at demolition only, but is represented in raids, arrests, deportations, withdrawal of identity cards, and turning the city into a military barracks amid a large police presence, in addition to the threats and pressures that Jerusalemites are subjected to. Self-demolition in Jerusalem: House demolitions
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