15 Palestinian Families Forcibly Expelled from their Homes in Silwan with Dozens More Facing Imminent Threat
This past week, Israeli forces raided the Batan al-Hawa neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem and forcibly evicted 15 Palestinian families, numbering some 80 individuals, from their multi-generational homes. Another 15 families, around 95 people, are now at immediate risk of the same outcome. All 30 families have been under impending threat after the Israeli Supreme Court systematically denied their right to appeal, ending all remaining legal recourse and instantly exposing them to impending eviction.
In parallel, 21 families, approximately 135 people in the adjacent Al-Bustan neighborhood, are likewise facing imminent displacement and the immediate demolition of their homes after receiving final demolition notices just prior to Ramadan. If not halted, a total of some 300 individuals from both communities stand to be displaced in the coming days and weeks ahead amid an ongoing regional war and daily missile fire.
These expulsions are part of an unprecedented escalation in forced displacement from Silwan that is tantamount to forcible transfer and involves multiple state institutions and entities working in collusion with settler groups and reinforced by a complicit judiciary. The amount of resources being allocated and deployed to carry out these measures during an ongoing war underscores the Israeli government’s resolve to exploit the circumstances to accelerate forcible transfer and solidify an irreversible apartheid reality. As detailed in a forthcoming Ir Amim report, a web of state and local authorities, statutory bodies, and laws converge into a single coordinated, multi-layered system of state-orchestrated dispossession and displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, in flagrant violation of international law.
Batan al-Hawa, Silwan
The surge in evictions in Batan al Hawa is a result of a series of court decisions in cases filed by the Ateret Cohanim settler organization through its dubious appropriation of a 19th century Jewish trust that claimed land ownership in the area. Despite having no connection to the original trust or previous occupants of the properties, the organization effectively coopted the trust for its own goals in contravention to the trust’s original deed, as confirmed by an internal government audit.
Israeli law allows Jews to reclaim property in East Jerusalem based on pre-1948 ownership claims, while denying Palestinians parallel restitution rights for lost property in West Jerusalem or elsewhere in Israel. These discriminatory laws are systematically exploited to expel and dispossess Palestinians in order to seize their properties for Jewish settlement.
Although the lands in Batan al Hawa had since been purchased, developed, and inhabited by Palestinian families over the past seven decades, the Israeli courts have consistently ruled in favor of the trust controlled by the settler group, asserting its claims supersede all other property rights.
As a result, over the past 1.5 years, 29 families (160 people) have now been evicted and their homes taken over by settlers affiliated with Ateret Cohanim, including 23 families just since November 2025. This marks the highest number of forced evictions in the neighborhood in over a decade, bringing the total number of evicted families over the years to 57—more than 1/2 of the community. If the current trajectory continues, a total of 85 Palestinian families—some 700 residents—will be displaced from Batan al Hawa.
Al Bustan, Silwan
The dramatic rise in demolitions in Al Bustan was triggered by the sudden decision by the Jerusalem municipality to halt all negotiations with the community to secure a proper housing solution for the area. The entire neighborhood of 115 homes and some 1500 people has been under threat of demolition due to the municipality’s intent to establish a biblically themed Israeli tourist attraction in its place. Demolitions are carried out under the pretext of lacking Israeli building permits impossible to obtain. As a result, 37 homes have been demolished in Al Bustan in just the past two years alone–constituting the highest number of demolitions in the area on record. The plan for Al Bustan is part of broader initiatives to entrench Israeli control over the Old City Basin through the expansion of Israeli tourist attractions and national parks, including onto lands owned by churches, such as on the Mount of Olives.
Together, if these efforts are not halted, the forced evictions and demolitions in Silwan will result in one of the largest waves of expulsions in East Jerusalem since 1967, involving over 2000 Palestinians.
Existing settler takeovers and looming eviction threats in Batan al Hawa
The Al Bustan and Batan al Hawa neighborhoods of Silwan under impending threat of largescale expulsions