During the first nine months of 2023, January 1 through the end of September, Israeli forces demolished a total of 97 Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem. But from Oct. 7 of last year through late February of 2024, 87 homes have been bulldozed in East Jerusalem according to Ir Amim, a local non-profit which monitors home demolitions and advocates for Palestinian rights.
The case of Fakhri Abu Diab is exemplary. Al Jazeera reported on Feb. 25, Abu Diab “had no time to pack his belongings when the Israeli authorities arrived on his doorstep in occupied East Jerusalem on February 14. The police first evicted his family and then ordered a bulldozer to demolish his home.”
“All of my memories were in that house,” said Abu Diab, 62, who was born and raised in that home. “I even had a picture of my mother holding me as a child. It was hanging on our wall, but now it’s gone.”
