Israel demolishes 13 flats housing 100 Palestinians in Jerusalem

Israeli authorities on Monday demolished a residential building containing 13 flats in the Silwan area of occupied East Jerusalem, saying it was built without a permit.

Eyewitnesses said Israeli police accompanied Jerusalem municipality crews as they demolished the building,… pic.twitter.com/ADbSYbSQHH

— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) December 22, 2025

Israeli authorities on Monday demolished a residential building containing 13 flats in the Silwan area of occupied East Jerusalem, saying it was built without a permit.

Eyewitnesses said Israeli police accompanied Jerusalem municipality crews as they demolished the building, which was home to around 100 Palestinians, in the Wadi Qaddum neighbourhood. They added that police sealed off the area while municipal bulldozers carried out the demolition.

Witnesses also said Israeli police officers assaulted Palestinians who had gathered at the site in order to disperse them.

As of the morning, neither the Israeli police nor the municipality had commented on the demolition.

Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights groups say Israel restricts building permits for Palestinians in Jerusalem while granting them to settlers, as part of efforts to increase the settler population in the city.

The demolition comes amid escalating violence in the occupied West Bank, where attacks by the Israeli army and settlers against residents, their property and sources of livelihood have intensified.

Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, 1,102 Palestinians have been killed, around 11,000 injured, and more than 21,000 arrested.