Israel Forces Jerusalem Resident Mohammad Mahmoud Al-Abbasi to Self-Demolish Home in Silwan

Israeli authorities forced Jerusalem resident Mohammad Mahmoud Al-Abbasi to empty his home in the Abu Tayeh neighborhood in Silwan, south of the Old City, in preparation for it to be self-demolished.

“East Jerusalem Under Occupation – Basema Dabash cries daily for the home that she and her husband Raed were forced to demolish in the Sur Baher neighborhood, south of East Jerusalem”

Chronique de Palestine

The Jerusalem Governorate said Al-Abbasi would demolish the home himself to avoid financial penalties and steep costs the municipality might impose if carried out by its crews, after the occupation authorities imposed financial fines totaling 66,000 shekels and set a deadline until next Saturday.

Chronique de Palestine

The home, built in 2011 and covering about 65 square meters, houses Al-Abbasi, his wife, and their two children as the family prepares to welcome their third child soon, and the report says Al-Abbasi suffers from diabetes and is undergoing dialysis and had a foot amputated several months ago.

In a separate incident in the same reporting period, the Israeli occupation forces also accompanied former Israeli Knesset member Yehuda Glick as he stormed the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and performed Jewish rituals and prayers inside the mosque under heavy protection by the Israeli occupation forces.

A field report from the special envoy of Le Nouvel Observateur, Dimitri Krie, described Silwan in East Jerusalem where demolition orders affected about 150 Palestinian homes in an area home to around 60,000 people, alongside projects aimed at expanding what Israelis call the Archaeological “City of David” and replacing native residents with Israeli settlers.

The report cited Amin Jaljal, 62, who said: “They say we don’t have a building permit… but I was born in this house!” and described the Jaljal family as having left only one home that today shelters 96 people after the demolition of the other homes.

Le Devoir

It also quoted Wasim Siyam, 37, saying: “They don’t care about my health or my mother’s health or that my children need a home… all that matters to them is that the settlers live in comfort,” and added: “They have turned our lives into a hell.”

In the same report, Ahmed, Amin’s nephew, recounted that he paid a large fine for illegal construction and later received an order to demolish his home, which turned into a pile of rubble, while the family faced repeated threats as settlers tried to buy the remainder of their property at large sums.

The WAFA Agency reported that on June 7, 2026, Israeli authorities forced a Palestinian resident, Ashraf Burqan, in the Bir Ayyoub neighborhood of Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem, to demolish his own home.

“JERUSALEM, June 7, 2026 (WAFA)– Israeli authorities on Sunday forced a Palestinian resident to demolish his own home in the Bir Ayyoub neighborhood of Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem”

WAFA Agency

WAFA said Burqan was compelled to carry out the demolition himself after being presented with two options: either demolish the structure on his own or face substantial additional costs if municipal authorities carried out the demolition, in addition to fines already imposed, and that the 60-square-meter home housed three members of the Burqan family.

In a separate account, Chronique de Palestine described how Basema Dabash, 51, and her husband Raed were forced to demolish their home in the Sur Baher neighborhood after an Israeli demolition order in 2014, and said that on February 12 the family was forced to demolish their home to avoid city council fees that can reach 100,000 shekels ($32,000).

The same Chronique de Palestine piece added that the United Nations has reported that demolitions in 2025 forced the displacement of 1,500 Palestinians, and it quoted Marouf al-Rifai, spokesperson for the Jerusalem Governorate under the Palestinian Authority, saying 400 demolitions occurred in 2025 in East Jerusalem and its surroundings.