DaysofPal – United Nations agencies have sounded the alarm over a sharp escalation in Israeli measures aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, warning that such actions may amount to war crimes under international law.
In its latest situation report, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) revealed that Israeli military authorities have issued notices threatening to demolish every structure in 13 Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta, a rural area in the South Hebron Hills designated by Israel as “Firing Zone 918.” If carried out, the demolitions would forcibly displace at least 1,200 Palestinians, including more than 500 children.
“These communities are at imminent risk of forced displacement,” OCHA warned.
The UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory echoed this assessment, stating that Israeli authorities are “accelerating measures aimed at forcibly displacing large numbers of Palestinians from long-established towns and communities.”
It highlighted a June 18 decision by the Planning Subcommittee of Israel’s Civil Administration to reject all Palestinian building permit requests in Masafer Yatta, using the pretext that the land is required for military training.
“The latest decision by the Israeli Civil Administration paves the way for the Israeli army to demolish existing structures and buildings in the area and expel nearly 1,200 Palestinians who have lived there for decades,” the Human Rights Office said.
“This displacement constitutes forced deportation and is a war crime and could amount to a crime against humanity if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population.”
The UN also noted that Israeli settlers from illegal outposts within the same “firing zone”, yet not subject to eviction orders, have escalated their daily attacks on Palestinians, including women, children, and the elderly, as part of efforts to coerce residents into leaving.
Between October 7, 2023, and May 31, 2025, OCHA reported that 6,463 Palestinians were forcibly displaced due to Israeli demolitions. An additional 2,200 were displaced by settler violence and movement restrictions. These figures do not include the approximately 40,000 Palestinians driven from refugee camps in Jenin and Tulkarem amid intensified Israeli military operations since January 2025.
The report also revealed that, in just ten days from June 13 to 23, Israeli soldiers temporarily took over 240 Palestinian homes, converting them into military outposts or interrogation centers. “The owners were either forcibly evicted or detained,” OCHA stated.
Meanwhile, in Tulkarem and the Nur Shams refugee camps, nearly 100 structures—mostly residential homes—were demolished. In East Jerusalem, nearly 320 residents across three communities face imminent eviction or demolition.
East Jerusalem Evictions and Expanding Settlements
The UN Human Rights Office further highlighted a pattern of discriminatory evictions in East Jerusalem. On June 16 and 22, Israel’s Supreme Court upheld the eviction of five Palestinian families, comprising 37 individuals, from the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood of Silwan. The evictions were based on Israeli laws that permit Jewish claims to pre-1948 properties while denying Palestinians similar legal recourse.
“These evictions are part of a systematic campaign by the Israeli state and settler organizations targeting Palestinian neighborhoods to seize Palestinian homes and expand Jewish settlements,” the Human Rights Office said.
In another case, the Israel Land Authority issued eviction orders on June 11 targeting homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Um Tuba, affecting 150 Palestinians. The land is claimed by the Jewish National Fund under an Israeli land registration process.
The Human Rights Office cited a June 10 report indicating that the Jerusalem Municipality had issued a demolition order for the entire village of Al-Nu’man near Bethlehem, home to 150 Palestinians. The village, encircled by the separation wall and absorbed into Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries, has been effectively cut off from both the city and the rest of the West Bank. Most residents have been denied Jerusalem ID cards, leaving them without access to essential services.
“These demolition orders appear to be a further step in Israel’s efforts to create a coercive environment that pushes Palestinians to leave and consolidates the annexation of land,” the UN office concluded.
International law prohibits the forced displacement of protected populations in occupied territories, the destruction of private property, and the annexation of land. The International Court of Justice reaffirmed these principles in its advisory opinion issued in July 2024, which condemned Israel’s policies in the occupied Palestinian territory.
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