Continued Demolition and Blasting of Buildings
“Union for Justice”: The occupation carried out more than (39) demolition operations in the West Bank last month, leading to the displacement of dozens of families
5/6/2026 – Union for Justice Foundation
The “Union for Justice Foundation” stated that Israeli occupation authorities carried out 39 demolition operations of Palestinian buildings and facilities in the West Bank during last May, resulting in the displacement of dozens of residents and the loss of livelihoods for others.
The organization noted in its monthly report that the demolitions were concentrated in the city of Jerusalem and affected a number of industrial, commercial, agricultural, and livestock facilities, in addition to residential homes.
It affirmed that the occupation authorities continue to use house and facility demolitions as part of a general policy aimed at displacing Palestinians from the West Bank and replacing them with settlers, as well as a punitive measure against the families of martyrs and prisoners.
The “Union for Justice” indicated that the occupation seeks, through the escalating demolition operations—now a daily part of Palestinian life— to confine and concentrate Palestinians in designated areas to facilitate control over them, and to create new spaces that allow for the expansion of settlements and the establishment of buffer zones separating these settlements from Palestinian communities.
According to the foundation’s monitoring, occupation authorities carried out 39 demolition operations across various areas of the West Bank in May, resulting in the destruction of dozens of structures, in addition to issuing dozens of demolition and stop-construction notices to citizens.
It noted that a single demolition operation may involve dozens of commercial shops and multi-storey residential buildings.
Regarding the geographical distribution of demolition operations across Palestinian governorates, the “Union for Justice” documented 19 demolition operations in Jerusalem governorate, 6 in Ramallah and Al-Bireh, 5 in Bethlehem, 4 in Hebron, 2 in the Jordan Valley, and 2 in Qalqilya.
May also witnessed one of the largest demolition operations, when occupation authorities on the 11th of the month forced owners of 50 commercial shops to demolish their own premises in the Al-Mashtal area east of Al-Eizariya, southeast of occupied Jerusalem. This step comes as part of field preparations for the implementation of the “E1” settlement plan, which aims to connect the “Ma’ale Adumim” settlement to Jerusalem, thereby isolating the northern West Bank from its south and absorbing approximately 3% of the West Bank’s area to be formally annexed under the so-called “Greater Jerusalem” plan.
Demolition activities against Palestinian structures in the West Bank were not limited to the occupation authorities and their executive arm, the Israeli army, but also extended to settler gangs, who have also become partners in demolition operations. On the 10th of the same month, bulldozers belonging to settlers demolished 50 agricultural rooms in the Arab Al-Khouli community east of Kafr Thulth, south of Qalqilya.
In addition to demolitions in the West Bank, the occupation continues to destroy and blow up buildings in areas it still controls in Gaza, which constitute about 60% of the Strip’s area, despite the ceasefire entering its second phase.
Regarding the nature of the structures affected by the demolitions, the organization explained that the majority were inhabited homes belonging to Palestinian residents, ranging from single-room dwellings to multi-storey apartment buildings and residential units. They also included Bedouin shelters made of tin and makeshift materials, shacks, agricultural rooms, sheep pens, water wells, commercial shops, factories, and retaining walls.
The “Union for Justice Foundation” publishes below the details of the demolition operations it documented during May.
Demolition of Residential Homes and Apartments
4/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished in Al-Dairat village east of Yatta, south of Hebron, the two-storey home of citizen Radi Al-Jabareen and his son Munir. The house covered an area of 300 square meters and housed approximately 15 people. The forces also uprooted several fruit trees at the site and leveled the surrounding land.
5/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished the home of citizen Mohammed Daif Allah Arara in the Arab Al-Ara’ara area near the Jaba’ junction, north of Jerusalem, on the pretext of lacking a building permit.
6/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished the two-storey home of citizen Abdul Halim Thabet, which included a swimming pool and a playground, in Shuqba town west of Ramallah. The house was inhabited by 7 people.
6/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished in Al-Sawahra town in Jerusalem a two-storey house belonging to citizen Mustafa Abdul Ghani Za’atara, on the grounds of unlicensed construction.
10/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished several homes and structures in Wadi Al-Qurayshiya area in the Yatta Badia, south of Hebron, belonging to citizen Khaled Suleiman Al-Badour, where 20 people reside.
11/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished the home of citizen Ezz Sharif Nakhlah in Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah. The house was a single-storey structure of approximately 120 square meters, along with its surrounding fence, on the grounds of unlicensed construction.
11/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished the lower floor of a residential building in Wadi Qaddum neighborhood in Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, after it had previously been demolished at the end of last year.
11/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished two homes in Al-Ramadin town south of Hebron. The first was built of bricks and measured 50 square meters, while the second was a 100-square-meter structure made of metal sheets (“zinc”). The foundations of another house were also leveled. The properties belonged to members of the Abu Fureih and Al-Kashkhar families.
12/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished the home of citizen Ayman Khalil in Beit Skaria village near the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, which is situated on Palestinian-owned land south of Bethlehem. The house measured 60 square meters.
18/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished the ground floor of an under-construction residential building belonging to citizen Ahmed Nasr Abu Al-Tin in Al-Walaja village northwest of Bethlehem.
24/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished the single-storey home of citizen Abdullah Abdul Ghani Thabet, built on one dunum of land and including living rooms, a swimming pool, and a horse stable, in Shuqba west of Ramallah.
25/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished a two-storey home belonging to citizen Fawaz Awad, as well as a metal shack owned by the Ruwaydi family. They also bulldozed walls and lands belonging to residents in Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, south of occupied Jerusalem.
25/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished a villa in Nahalin town west of Bethlehem belonging to citizen Saber Mahmoud Najahra, on the grounds of lacking a building permit. The villa consisted of two floors, each measuring 300 square meters.
Demolish Your Own Structure
In some cases, particularly in occupied Jerusalem, residents are compelled to demolish their own homes to avoid incurring heavy financial penalties if the occupation authorities carry out the demolition themselves, a practice that leaves severe psychological impacts.
On 3/5/2026, the Jerusalem Municipality forced citizen Mohammed Abdul Raouf Abu Teir to demolish his home himself in the village of Umm Tuba on the grounds of lacking a building permit. The house sheltered a family consisting of a husband, wife, and their five children, in addition to the husband’s parents, and covered an area of approximately 100 square meters.
On 9/5/2026, the Jerusalem Municipality forced citizen Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Abbasi to demolish his home in Abu Tayeh neighborhood in Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The house measured 65 square meters and housed Al-Abbasi, his wife, and their two children, while the family was expecting a third child.
On 12/5/2026, the occupation authorities forced citizen Jalal Al-Tawil to demolish a residential room belonging to him in Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, on the pretext of lacking a building permit. The structure measured 70 square meters and had been built in 1975.
On 13/5/2026, the occupation authorities forced the Faqih family to carry out the self-demolition of their house under construction after receiving a demolition notice from the Jerusalem Municipality in Shu’fat refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem. The family had previously demolished their old home a few months earlier to build a new one to accommodate its members, but they were later issued a new notice during the construction phase, which forced them to demolish it themselves to avoid heavy fines.
On 15/5/2026, the occupation authorities forced citizen Awatif Mahmoud Al-Ghoul to demolish her home in Al-Suwaih neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem on the grounds of lacking a building permit.
On 16/5/2026, the occupation authorities forced Jerusalemite citizen Omar Mohammed Halasa to carry out the self-demolition of his home in Jabal Al-Mukabber in occupied Jerusalem after being issued a final demolition order by the Jerusalem Municipality on the pretext of unlicensed construction. The house covered 60 square meters, had stood for around 20 years, and housed the husband, his wife, and their four children.
On 22/5/2026, the occupation authorities forced Jerusalemite citizen Jumaa Mohammed Qara’in to demolish his home in Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, to avoid heavy fines imposed by the Jerusalem Municipality if its crews carried out the demolition. The house consisted of two rooms and a bathroom and was built on a plot of land of approximately 500 square meters.
On 30/5/2026, the occupation authorities forced the Awad Allah family to demolish seven inhabited homes in the eastern area of Qalandia village, north of occupied Jerusalem, on the pretext of unlicensed construction.
On 30/5/2026, the occupation authorities forced Jerusalemite citizen Nabil Al-Ramouni to demolish his home in Beit Hanina, occupied Jerusalem, which measured 90 square meters and housed him, his wife, and their seven children.
On 30/5/2026, the occupation authorities forced Jerusalemite citizen Mujahid Imad Badran to self-demolish his home in Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, on the grounds of lacking a building permit. The house measured 75 square meters, had been built in 2019, and housed Badran, his wife, and their three children.
On 31/5/2026, the occupation authorities forced Jerusalemite citizen Fouad Aliyan to demolish his home in Beit Safafa, southeast of occupied Jerusalem.
Demolition of Industrial and Commercial Facilities
5/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished a number of commercial and industrial facilities, including a car wash owned by Jerusalemite citizen Osama Dweik, a vehicle showroom, as well as an industrial wood-recycling facility in the town of Al-Ram, north of occupied Jerusalem.
11/5/2026: The occupation authorities forced owners of 50 commercial shops to demolish their own shops in the Al-Mashtal area east of Al-Eizariya, southeast of occupied Jerusalem, as part of field preparations for the implementation of the “E1” settlement plan in the area, which aims to link the “Ma’ale Adumim” settlement with Jerusalem.
11/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished a commercial facility in Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah, which contained digging equipment and construction materials. The facility had previously been demolished a few months earlier on the grounds of unlicensed construction.
20/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished a cement factory in Kharbatha Bani Harith, west of Ramallah, belonging to the Shamasneh family, on the grounds of lacking a building permit.
25/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished a car wash and a vehicle bodywork and paint shop owned by young man Nasr Zahran in Nabi Elias village, east of Qalqilya, on the pretext of unlicensed construction.
27/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished two commercial facilities belonging to citizen Mohammed Abu Zalta, as well as an agricultural room in Idhna town, west of Hebron. They also bulldozed electrical networks, stone terraces, water tanks, and iron gates.
31/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished a restaurant in Al-Musrara neighborhood in the Bab al-Amud area of occupied Jerusalem, on the grounds of infrastructure development in the area.
31/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished commercial structures near Shufat refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem, including a parking area and a vehicle showroom near Shufat camp roundabout.
Demolition of Agricultural and Livestock Facilities
5/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished an agricultural and livestock facility owned by citizen Yusuf Abdul Hakim Hamad in the town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah.
7/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished an agricultural room belonging to citizen Adel Aayed Al-Bajali, and a concrete water tank owned by citizen Malek Sarour in Wadi Al-Ta’amra area east of Za’tara, east of Bethlehem.
7/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished plastic greenhouses used for agriculture and destroyed a water network covering an area of 9 dunums near Bardala village in the northern Jordan Valley.
10/5/2026: Bulldozers belonging to settlers demolished 50 agricultural rooms belonging to the Al-Khouli and Muqbil families, built of stone, iron, and metal sheets (“zinc”), and established on an agricultural area of approximately 30 dunums within a larger land area of about 1,700 dunums in the Arab Al-Khouli community east of Kafr Thulth, south of Qalqilya. Losses were estimated in the millions of Israeli shekels.
19/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished a farmstead consisting of several residential rooms and livestock shelters belonging to citizen Suleiman Ahmad Al-Sarayreh in Rantis village, west of Ramallah.
20/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished residential structures and animal pens in Ain Al-Hilweh in the northern Jordan Valley, belonging to citizen Adel Aliyan Daraghmeh.
20/5/2026: Israeli occupation bulldozers demolished three sheep shelters in Al-Bariyah area belonging to citizens Mousa Faleh Al-Rashaideh, Ali Saleh Al-Rashaideh, and Muslim Khalil Al-Rashaideh in Al-Rashaideh village, east of Bethlehem.
The “Union for Justice Foundation” emphasizes that all demolition operations carried out by the occupation authorities in Palestinian areas, whether in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, and regardless of the justification or pretext, constitute grave violations that contradict United Nations provisions and international human rights law, including the right to adequate housing.
It considers that demolition operations and the accompanying displacement amount to forced transfer, which is prohibited and may constitute a war crime under the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court.
The “Union for Justice Foundation” further stresses that forced displacement resulting from demolition operations, or from the coercive environment created by the restriction of livelihoods, amounts to prohibited forcible transfer and may constitute a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
It adds that demolition operations carried out under the pretext of unlicensed construction, within a discriminatory planning system that imposes near-total restrictions on Palestinian construction, are in violation of applicable laws and agreements, while the occupation authorities simultaneously grant extensive facilitation to illegal settlements under international law.
End
