Introduction:

In January of 2022, the home of Mahmoud Salihiya was demolished by Israeli occupation forces in the Sheik Jarrah neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem. In the middle of the night as the family was asleep, Israeli police forcibly evacuated the family out into the rain and demolished the home they have been living in for over 70 years. This came after weeks of protest by the Salihiya family and international solidarity groups, hundreds of whom stood outside the barricaded home to protect it from bulldozers.

This was the second time the Salihiya family had been forcibly displaced. This first being in 1948 during the Nakba, from the depopulated village of Ein Karim. Mahmoud’s family was driven out of their home while Israeli massacres were being committed in nearby villages. His grandfather came to Sheik Jarrah, where he purchased a home. The Salihiya family had been continuously living in that home since, until its demolition last year.

The demolition of the Salihiya family home is part of large-scale efforts by Israel to ethnically cleanse Jerusalem of Palestinians and replace them with Israeli settlers. Since falling under Israeli occupation in 1967, more and more land has been annexed by Israel as part of the Judaization of Jerusalem. So far in 2023 alone, 79 Palestinian-owned homes and businesses have been demolished in occupied Jerusalem. It is nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain a permit to build or expand their existing homes.