Demolition in Jerusalem… A Political Project to Change the City's Identity

The policy of home demolitions in Jerusalem is no longer merely a punitive measure or a regulatory violation, as the Israeli occupation claims. Instead, it has become a systematic policy aimed at demographically and geographically reshaping the city to serve the Israeli settlement project and impose new realities on the ground that will be difficult to change in the future.For years, the occupation has been working according to a clear strategy based on disrupting the demographic balance in East Jerusalem by reducing the Palestinian presence while increasing the number of Jewish settlers. Many Israeli studies and plans have revealed the occupation's endeavor to reduce the percentage of Palestinians in Jerusalem to only about 17%, a policy based on restricting Palestinians in housing, construction, and daily life, to make their continued presence in the city more difficult.In this context, the demolition policy has become one of the most important tools of silent displacement. It is not limited to removing buildings and structures but extends to targeting the family, social, and economic stability of Jerusalemites, forcibly pushing them to leave their city or move to other areas outside Jerusalem's borders.What is happening today in the towns on the outskirts of Jerusalem, especially Kafr Aqab, Mukhmash, Anata, Al-Ram, Beit Hanina, Hizma, Beit Surik, Jaba, and Biddu, confirms that the occupation has moved to a new stage of escalation. Hundreds of notices to stop construction and demolish have been issued in recent months, in an attempt to impose a new reality on these densely populated Palestinian areas. This reveals that the real goal is not to apply the law, as the occupation claims, but to reduce Palestinian urban expansion and curb the population growth of Jerusalemites.Kafr Aqab has become a clear example of this policy; it is located within the borders that the occupation declares annexed to Jerusalem, but at the same time, it deprives its residents of basic services and prevents natural urban development there, then uses the pretext of unlicensed construction to justify demolition operations. This contradiction confirms that the issue is purely political, and that the occupation uses urban planning and organization tools as a weapon to achieve its demographic goals.The numbers reveal the unprecedented scale of escalation in the demolition policy, as demolition operations in Jerusalem during the first half of this year exceeded 300 demolitions, a figure that reflects a dangerous increase in the pace of Israeli targeting of Palestinian homes and structures. Moreover, these numbers do not represent mere statistics, but mean hundreds of families who have lost their homes, and thousands of citizens who live in a state of anxiety and instability, in light of the continued policy of collective punishment pursued by the occupation.Demolition in Jerusalem is not an engineering or legal issue, but a comprehensive political project that targets people, land, and identity. The real battle waged by the occupation is a battle over the future of Jerusalem and its Arab Palestinian identity, and an attempt to impose a Jewish demographic majority that guarantees it complete control over the city.Despite the harshness of these policies, Jerusalemites have proven to be the most attached to their land and the most steadfast in the face of attempts at uprooting. Jerusalem will remain, despite demolition, walls, and settlement, an Arab Palestinian city with its identity, history, and people, because the will of peoples is stronger than policies of oppression, and because a house that is demolished can be rebuilt, but belonging cannot be demolished or confiscated.