Layan Bsharat
21 May 2026•Update: 21 May 2026
Israeli authorities issued demolition orders Wednesday for eight Palestinian homes and structures in the town of Hizma, northeast of occupied East Jerusalem, under the pretext of construction without permits.
In a statement, the Jerusalem Governorate said the orders targeted homes and structures in the Tablas area.
According to the governorate, the demolition orders included the home of Khaled Abdullah Abu Hamdan, a car wash owned by Ali Mohammad Ahmad Rizq, a carpentry workshop belonging to Nadi Mohammad Ahmad Rizq, a grocery store owned by Ahmad Mohammad Ahmad Rizq, and a caravan owned by Riyad Ahmad Salama.
The notices also included three homes belonging to the sons of Ahmad Salama, Mohammad Abdullah Qasem and the sons of Salama Abdullah Qasem, it added.
Israeli demolition campaigns targeting Palestinian homes and structures in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem have escalated as part of policies aimed at pressuring Palestinians to leave their homes and lands in favor of settlement expansion.
Earlier Wednesday, Israeli forces demolished residential structures and livestock shelters in the Ain al-Hilweh area of the northern Jordan Valley, in addition to a cement factory in Kharbatha Bani Harith village west of Ramallah.
According to figures by the Palestinian Commission Against the Wall and Settlements, Israeli authorities carried out 37 demolition operations in April targeting 78 structures, including 37 inhabited homes, while issuing demolition notices for 21 additional structures.
The actions have coincided with a continued Israeli military escalation in the West Bank, including killings, arrests and raids on cities and towns involving home searches and property destruction, since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Since then, attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers in the West Bank have killed 1,162 Palestinians, injured around 12,245 and led to nearly 23,000 arrests, according to official figures.
*Writing by Tarek Chouiref
