Human Rights Office: Forced displacement undermines geographical continuity in East Jerusalem

The Human Rights Office reported an acceleration The pace of forced displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, with increasing demolitions and evictions in Silwan, south of the Old City. At the same time, Israel continues the illegal expansion of settlements in what is known as the E1 area, located in the heart of three of the most important Palestinian urban centers: East Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Bethlehem.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the UN Office indicated that the International Court of Justice confirmed in July 2024 that Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territory – including forced evictions and widespread home demolitions – contradict the prohibition of forced displacement stipulated in the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The court also concluded that it is necessary to end Israel’s illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, including stopping all new settlement activities and evacuating all settlers from the occupied Palestinian territory.

Ajith Songhai, Director of the UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory, said: “Across the occupied West Bank, we are witnessing unprecedented rates of forced displacement, land seizures, settler violence, and settlement expansion, which are deepening the entrenchment of annexation and undermining the Palestinian right to self-determination. The international community must act now to push for an end to these blatant violations of international law, and push for strengthening the ability of Palestinians to exercise their human rights.”

Testimonies of those affected by the eviction

The Human Rights Office said that last year, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled against claims by Palestinian residents of the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood in Silwan in favor of the settlement organization “Ateret Cohanim,” without any additional legal paths for appeal. The eviction of Palestinians from their homes has accelerated since then.

According to the UN office, last week Israeli authorities handed final evacuation orders to 32 additional families in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood, most of them from the extended Rajabi family, making the displacement of 250 Palestinians imminent. There are several additional eviction proceedings being considered in lower courts, and a group of about 700 Palestinian residents of Silwan are at risk of eviction.

The Human Rights Office quoted Zuhair Rajabi, a long-time community leader and designated spokesman for more than 80 families in Silwan – all threatened with eviction, as saying: “I am convinced that there is no longer hope. In the past, the court sometimes ruled in our favor. But now, there is no longer any chance of that.”

The Human Rights Office indicated that the imminent displacement of the Rajabi family will be one of many displacements that his family has been subjected to over several generations since 1948.

The UN office stated that evictions usually lead to the transfer of Palestinian homes to Israeli settlers, which further erodes the Palestinian presence in the vicinity of the Old City. The Israeli authorities are seizing some homes to make way for settlement projects, which currently include a tourist park and a cable car line linking West Jerusalem to the Old City.

Expansion of settlements

While the historic neighborhoods of East Jerusalem are being systematically emptied of their Palestinian residents, settlement expansion around the city is deepening its isolation and disrupting the geographic continuity of the Palestinian presence in the occupied West Bank, according to the Human Rights Office. On December 10, Israeli authorities published bids for the construction of 3,401 settlement units in the E1 area.

On January 8, Israeli authorities announced the imminent start of construction of a road aimed at diverting Palestinian traffic away from the E1 area, with the main Route 1 designated exclusively for Israeli traffic.

The Palestinian communities in Al-Eizariya, Abu Dis, Al-Sawahra, Jabal Al-Baba, and Wadi Jamil were informed that they would be affected by this construction, and were given 45 days to submit objections. The Israeli government called the project “the road to sovereignty” and “the road to the fabric of life,” while human rights defenders and anti-occupation activists described it as a road to “annexation” and “apartheid.”

The Human Rights Office warned of catastrophic effects resulting from this settlement expansion and rerouting of roads, including preventing Palestinians from reaching the E1 area, separating East Jerusalem from the West Bank, tearing apart the geographical connection between the north and the south, deepening apartheid, and forcing the displacement of 18 long-established communities in the region.

A declared policy to impose sovereignty on the West Bank

The Human Rights Office referred to statements repeatedly made by senior Israeli officials indicating that displacement and settlement expansion, especially in the E1 area, reflect a declared policy to impose sovereignty over the West Bank, consolidate annexation, and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The UN Office quoted the statements of the Israeli Prime Minister, on September 11, 2025, during the signing ceremony of a framework agreement to expand the Maale Adumim settlement towards the E1 area, where he said: “There will be no Palestinian state. This place is ours.”