Israel advances displacement campaign across Jerusalem, West Bank

The Supreme Court has ordered the Shehadeh family to be evicted from their four-story home in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan, by June 1, 2024, in favor of settlers affiliated with the Ateret Cohanim organization. The family's petition challenged this decision, citing procedural flaws. It didn't matter. On May 26, 2024, the Israeli kangaroo courts rejected their petition, exhausting all legal avenues. If the Shehadehs do not leave their home, settlers will initiate procedures with the Execution Office to evict them, coordinated with the Israeli police to use force to displace this family.

Over 80 Palestinian families face similar eviction cases, risking the displacement of hundreds of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem to be replaced by Israeli settlers. This underscores the power that settler groups like Ateret Cohanim have to use Israel's colonial system to dispossess Palestinians from their properties and lands. From January 1, 2024, Israel has increased the number of demolition operations across East Jerusalem and the West Bank, resulting in a significant increase in displacement and structural damage. A total of 82 households have been displaced, with 881 households otherwise affected. In terms of people, 394 Palestinians have been displaced, and 44,454 have been affected as a result of disruption in work, education, and health impact.

As Israel eyes the annexation of the West Bank seeking the greatest amount of land with the least number of Palestinians, home demolitions continue to be a critical tool to enact this vision. A total of 88 inhabited residential structures, 34 uninhabited residential structures, 133 agricultural structures, and 90 livelihood structures have been demolished since the beginning of 2024. Additionally, 28 WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) structures, seven infrastructure structures, and 14 other types of structures have also been destroyed. This data underscores how Israel's policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing are being animated in real time — with very few consequences.

Ateret Cohanim, which filed these eviction demands, receives charitable donations through the American Friends of Ateret Cohanim / Jerusalem Chai, a charity registered in New York, US.

Gaza Data

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed at least 36,586 Palestinians across Gaza. During its campaign to ethnically cleanse Gaza, through indiscriminate bombings, some 83,074 individuals have been wounded. The violence has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable, with more than 15,000 children reported killed. These numbers are likely an underestimation, and perhaps quite a significant one: they represent only the Palestinians who have been recovered and brought to functioning hospitals in Gaza, which organize the official count. Thousands of others remain under the rubble of buildings or on streets, unable to be recovered by their family or community due to Israel’s ongoing genocidal violence and the US-Israeli siege that prevents the entry of fuel for heavy machinery.

Israel continues to target hospitals in order to exacerbate the effects of the constant bombardment, invasion, and blockade imposed on Gaza during this genocide. Not only does this disrupt life-saving care, but it also has made the collection of accurate information regarding the number of Palestinian martyrs and wounded almost impossible. Today the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, in Deir al Balah, central Gaza, is currently at full capacity due to Israel’s severe aggression against civilians, women, and children. This hospital is currently the only hospital providing care to more than a million people. Palestinians who were forcibly displaced to Rafah were told by Israeli forces to evacuate to Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, north of Rafah, before Israel’s invasion of Rafah began. Now they are being bombarded and murdered there.

As we all mobilize in the hope that better news will come soon, we should remember that we each have the power to be someone else’s good news today. Adopt a fundraiser, make a donation, share with your family and friends and request that they contribute even a small amount today to the funds of Palestinians trying to make life happen during a genocide. You can find verified funds here: gazafunds.com

Critical resources

Here are some educational materials that you can read in your leisure time or listen to while traveling that further illuminate facts from the ground and decolonial analysis.

• Millennials Are Killing Capitalism: Palestine and the Problem of Narrative with The Good Shepherd Collective
• James Ray’s piece on the new US bill seeking to extend military benefits to Americans participating in war crimes against Palestinians
• On Palestinian Prisoners’ Day Ghiba AbiI-Ghannam reviews martyr Walid Daqqa’s “Searing Consciousness (Or on Redefining Torture)” his study of Israel’s psychological war on Palestinian prisoners as a microcosm of its war against the Palestinian people as a whole. You can listen to her speak about this review here.
• Abdaljawad Omar’s latest piece on “The Question of Hamas and the Left”
• Steven Salaita’s latest article, which touches on language, truth, and dignity

In solidarity,

Cody