A Palestinian man looks on as an excavator clears the rubble of homes demolished by Israeli authorities in the Silwan neighborhood of east Jerusalem, May 19, 2026.
For decades, Israel has worked to expand the Jewish presence in annexed east Jerusalem. It's the beating heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and home to major Jewish, Christian and Muslim sites. Settlers have exploited discriminatory policies to evict Palestinians far from the front lines of the region’s wars. Activists say those efforts have gone into overdrive in recent years, as Israel is no longer constrained by U.S. pressure and attention has shifted to Gaza and other war zones. An Israeli rights group says over 260 homes and other structures were demolished in 2025, a 70% increase from three years earlier. Some neighborhoods have seen the most evictions in decades.