2025 in Review: Israel’s Policy in East Jerusalem

After two years of bloodshed and inconceivable destruction, a ceasefire agreement in Gaza was signed in October 2025. The US regional initiative that led to the signing of the agreement was bolstered by the French-Saudi initiative to promote a two-state solution, which was presented to the UN General Assembly in September and received wide support, prompting a wave of declarations recognizing a Palestinian state.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, the Israeli government has accelerated measures to advance settlements, deepen annexation, and displace Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem and its surrounding West Bank areas, often referred to as “Greater Jerusalem.”

Numerous families have been displaced while many others face imminent threat of the same outcome; land registration (SOLT) aimed at dispossessing Palestinians has escalated alongside home demolitions; settlements have been promoted and approved, including in E1; the status quo on Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif has increasingly been eroded; and draconian measures to suppress Palestinian freedom of expression, identity, and education have intensified.