In statements to Safa news agency, the Jerusalem specialist noted that the country’s security forces have increased orders to Palestinian citizens, especially in the Silwan neighborhood.

Israeli authorities and their police have intensified their policy of forced demolition and pressure on Jerusalem residents to force them to demolish their homes with their own hands, he insisted.

In this regard, he pointed out that this strategy grew by 300% in 2025 alone, amidst the increasing economic hardship of the population. Since the beginning of this year, the Israeli municipality has forced more than 40 Jerusalem residents to demolish their homes with their own hands, and the number is expected to rise to more than 100 by the end of 2026, he emphasized.

Abu Diab stated that the occupation uses the policy of “self-destruction” as a systematic tool to break the will and resolve of the population, humiliate them, and exhaust them both physically and psychologically.

The goal is to displace Palestinians from the city in preparation for completely emptying it of its original inhabitants in order to replace them by Jewish settlers, he estimated.

The news outlet also quoted Omar Abu Rajab, who was forced to demolish his house in Jerusalem.

jdt/arm/oda/rob