According to human rights groups’ investigations, from the start of 2021 until the end of September, Israeli occupation forces have demolished approximately 241 homes and other properties in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem (or al-Quds, as it is known in Arabic), rendering numerous Palestinian families homeless, including children and the elderly.
Since the start of 2021, demolitions and Judaization have increased by 38% as compared to the same period in 2020, according to European Union (EU) estimates.
In combination with its support for illegal settlement projects, such house demolitions show that Israel’s aim is to entirely displace Palestinians from their lands.
In depriving Palestinians of their right to housing, travel, and life, the occupation authorities blatantly violate the rights guaranteed to Palestinians under international law – in order to continue the settlement and Judaization of historic Palestine.
In an urgent appeal, Arab Organization for Human Rights in the UK has said that such practices are part of a wider project to Judaize all of Jerusalem, one which the Israeli occupation has been pursuing since the 1948 war. Every illegal tactic has been employed to rid the occupied city of any sign of Palestinian life.
The human rights group emphasized the urgent need to submit all files related to the mass destruction of Palestinian homes to ICC, in order to hold all those responsible accountable for these criminal acts of displacement, including those Israeli judges who play such a crucial role in enabling settlers’ control over Palestinians’ property in Jeruslaem.