The demolition of Palestinian homes across the occupied territories had increased since a far-right cabinet led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office.
The pretext is that the homes were built without a permit. Israeli authorities rarely, if ever, approve such permits for Palestinians.
Despite Palestinians making up around 40% of Jerusalem’s population, they only received 7% of planning permits to build homes.
Since 1967, the government has built 58,000 homes for Israelis in the eastern part of the city, and fewer than 600 for Palestinians, per official city data; in that time, the city’s Palestinian population has soared by 400%.
