Posted on November 3, 2019, by & filed under House Demolitions, Monthly Demolition Report, News.


During the month of October 2019, at least 49 structures were demolished in the occupied Palestinian Territories (including East Jerusalem) by Israeli forces, displacing at least 80 people- including 41 children- and affecting a further 218 people (according to OCHA oPT).

All the demolitions and confiscations were carried out on grounds of lacking an Israeli-issued building permit, other then a punitive demolition carried out on 24 October in the Al Am’ari refugee camp. Most of the demolished structures supported agricultural, herding and commercial livelihoods.

Full list of Demolitions:

  • On 2 October, 2019, Israeli Ministry of Interior along with Israeli forces demolished a car wash facility in Umm Tuba, East Jerusalem. The family reported they did not receive any demolition order prior to the demolition. Two households, including six children were affected.
  • On 2 October, 2019, the Jerusalem municipality along with Israeli forces demolished 13 structures in Jabal al Mukabbir, East Jerusalem. The demolished structures included one residential inhabited structures, eight structures used for sheltering animals, two storage containers and two stone walls. As a result, a family of two were displaced, and ten households comprising of 46 people, including 22 children were affected.
  • On 3 October, 2019, the ICA (Israeli Civil Administration) along with Israeli forces demolished a house under-construction in Beit Ummar, Hebron. The structure was demolished under the new Law 1797, which allows the ICA to demolish a structure 96 hours after issuing a demolition order against the structure. A family of eight, including six children were affected.
  • On 3 October, 2019, Israeli forces demolished a house under-construction in At-Tayba, Jenin. The structure was demolished under the new Law 1797, which allows the ICA to demolish a structure 96 hours after issuing a demolition order against the structure. The house was almost completed, lacking only a roof. One person was affected by the demolition.
  • On 5 October, 2019, six Palestinian families were forced to self-demolish their houses in Beit Hanina, East Jerusalem. Two houses were built in 1998 and the a third one in 2012. Each house received a demolition order against it after construction was completed, and the families retained lawyers to fight the demolition orders in court. Eventually, after loosing their cases in court they received a warning from the Israeli authorities to either self-demolish their homes or the Jerusalem municipality will do so, and they will bear the cost of the demolition. 33 people from six households, including 13 children were displaced as a result of the demolitions.
  • On 7 October, 2019, owners of a newly-built car repair shop were forced to self-demolish it in Anata, East Jerusalem. The shop was built two weeks prior to the demolition at the cost of 23,000 NIS. The owners did not receive a demolition order, but the ICA verbally threatened to demolish the structure if the owners didn’t do so. The day after the demolition, Israeli forces arrived and confiscated the building materials of the structure.
  • On 10 October, 2019, the ICA along with Israeli forces demolished two houses and two structures used to shelter animals in An Najada, Hebron. During the incident, Israeli forces also confiscated one solar panel system. 12 people, including eight children, from two households were displaced.
  • On 10 October, 2019, the ICA along with Israeli forces demolished two houses under-construction- one of which was inhabited, in Kisan, Bethlehem. The families received demolition orders in September 2019, under the new Law 1797. During the incident, clashes erupted between Israeli forces and local Palestinians which resulted in four injuries. A family of five, including three children were displaced, and another family of two was affected.
  • On 10 October, 2019, a Palestinian family was forced to self-demolish an extension of their house- a living room and a bathroom, built in 2007, in Jabal al Mukabbir, East Jerusalem. The family received a demolition order against the structure immediately after completing it. They retained a lawyer who managed to postpone the demolition until an Israeli court ruled in favour of the demolition recently. A family of six, including two children was affected.
  • On 15 October, 2019, the unrecognized Bedouin village of al- Aragib, located in the Naqab desert, was demolished for the 162nd time.
  • On 15 October, 2019, a Palestinian family was forced to self-demolish two floors- out of a six-storey residential building, still under-construction, in Sur Baher in an area located on the Jerusalem side of the Separation Wall. According to the family, they started to build the building in 2016 after receiving a building permit from Ministry in the Palestinian Authority, but then they received a stop-work order from the Israeli authorities. In June 2019, the Israeli HCJ ruled in favour of the demolition, based on a 2011 Israeli military order that declared a section of Sur Bahir- located near the Separation Wall, as a security buffer zone. Six families,consisting of 20 people, including eight children were affected.
  • On 17 October, 2019, a Palestinian family was forced to self-demolish their house in Beit Hanina, East Jerusalem. According to the family, the house was built in 2010, a year after Israeli authorities demolished their house on the same location. They received a demolition order against the house the same year it was built. In August 2019, an Israeli court ruled in favour of the demolition. The family was ordered to self-demolish the house or have the municipality do so and bare the expenses. In addition, although the family has paid tens of thousands of NIS during the years in fines to the Israeli authorities, the court ordered them to pay more money for additional fines the family cannot afford, or risk imprisonment. A family of ten has been displaced as a result.
  • On 22 October, 2019, a Palestinian family was forced to self-demolish a structure used as an animal shelter in Jabal al Mukabbir, East Jerusalem. The family were given a 15-day notice to demolish it or have the municipality do so and bare the expenses. A family of eight, including six children was affected.
  • On 15 October, 2019, Israeli forces demolished the entire unrecognized Bedouin village of al- Aragib, located in the Naqab desert, was demolished for the 162nd time.
  • On 23 October, 2019, Israeli forces demolished the entire unrecognized Bedouin village of al- Aragib, located in the Naqab desert, for the 163rd time.
  • On 23 October 2019, the Jerusalem municipality along with Israeli forces demolished parts of an under-construction building near the Qalandiya checkpoint, on the West Bank side of the Separation Wall. The building was built seven years ago, and in May 2019 the owners received a demolition order. Although no final decision has been received by the court, and the next session was scheduled for December 2019, the Israeli forces went ahead with the demolition.
  • On 24 October, 2019, Israeli forces invaded the Al Am’ari refugee camp in Ramallah at dawn, and carried out a punitive demolition of a house under-construction. The house was built by a family that their son has been accused of killing an Israeli soldier. Their house was already demolished in October 2018, by the Israeli authorities as a punitive act. 13 people from four households have been affected by the demolition.
  • On 24 October, 2019, Israeli forces demolished a house in the unrecognized Bedouin village of az-Za’arurah, Naqab desert, South Israel.
  • On 27 October, 2019, the ICA along with Israeli forces demolished an agricultural structure and a structure used to shelter animals near Al ‘Arrub refugee camp, Hebron.  A family of four, including two children was affected.
  • On 28 October, 2019, Israeli forces confiscated a structure used as a canteen in an elementary school in Daher al Malih, Jenin, affecting 49 people, including 38 students.
  • On 29 October, 2019, personnel from the Jerusalem municipality along with Israeli forces demolished an under-construction residential extension and a staircase in Beit Safafa, East Jerusalem. The bedroom and bathroom was built six months ago, in order to allow some space for the five children who live in a small apartment. The family didn’t receive a demolition order, but representatives from the Jerusalem municipality visited the family two months ago and informed then that the extension was built illegal.
  • On 29 October, 2019, personnel from the Jerusalem municipality along with Israeli forces demolished a house in At Tur, East Jerusalem. According to the family the house was built in 1964. It was renovated two years ago, and a first demolition order was issued against the house in 2018. The family appointed a lawyer who appealed against the decision six months ago, but on 27 October, 2019, an Israeli court ruled in favour of the demolition. As a result, a family of six, including four children was displaced.
  • On 29 October, 2019, a family began to self-demolish an under-construction residential structure in Al ‘Isawiya, East Jerusalem. The family reported they started to build the house in August 2019, and received a demolition order the following month. The family appointed a lawyer to appeal against the after receiving multiple calls from the Israeli police threatening them to self-demolish the house or to pay for the demolition. The appeal was rejected and the family was forced to self-demolish. A family of five, including three children was affected.
  • On 29 October, 2019, personnel from the Jerusalem municipality along with Israeli forces demolished a car wash facility, storage room and a a horse stable in Al ‘Isawiya, East Jerusalem. The structures were built two months ago. A family of six was affected.
  • On 29 October, 2019, Israeli forces demolished a house in Khirbet Jubara, Tulkarm, displacing a family of seven, including five children.