Activists say Israel tries to expel a whole Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Activists say Israel tries to expel a whole Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem May 19, 20269:20 AM ET By Eleanor Beardsley , Nuha Musleh Fakhri Abu Diab, a community leader, walks by the remains of his family home after it was demolished by Israeli forces, in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Ammar Awad/ hide caption toggle caption Ammar Awad/ EAST JERUSALEM — Fakhri Abu Diab, 62, has lived on the same property in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan all his life. But he doesn't know how much longer he will be able to stay.

In the courtyard, there are geese in a pen — and a massive mound of rubble. Two years ago, Israeli authorities demolished the house, saying it lacked proper building permits. World Palestinians Fear Eviction From Their Jerusalem Neighborhood To Make Way For A Park It was his mother's house, the home where Abu Diab was born and grew up.

The Details

While its original structure predated Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem on land captured from Jordan in 1967, Abu Diab later added rooms to accommodate his growing family. Those additions were considered illegal by the Jerusalem municipality. Residents and human rights groups say it is difficult or impossible for Palestinians to obtain building permits in the area, leading them to build without permits.

Abu Diab is an activist in Silwan fighting to preserve the neighborhood against the demolitions that have been going on for nearly two decades. When NPR interviewed him in 2021, he was still living in his family's home. Now that it's demolished, he and his wife are living in a small trailer he set up in a corner of the courtyard.

He says he has received a new eviction notice from the Jerusalem municipality. Sponsor Message "I want to be close to my memories, to my home, and they said it's not allowed," he says. Because they want to take our land and make cars parking and gardens for the settlers.

What Experts Say

You know they have a political agenda and they not want us here. " An Israeli border policeman stands by as a bulldozer demolishes the house of Fakhri Abu Diab, in Silwan in East Jerusalem. Ammar Awad/ hide caption toggle caption Ammar Awad/ Hundreds of Palestinians like Abu Diab are being pushed out of Silwan by Israeli authorities to make way for Israeli settlers, as well as Jewish religious and archaeological sites, on this prized land just south of Jerusalem's Old City walls, according to residents and human rights advocates.

Amid the piles of demolition rubble, new settler homes have sprouted. Parallels Understanding The Map Of Jerusalem, Or Trying To This is a flashpoint in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The United Nations' International Court of Justice in 2024 issued an advisory opinion that Israel unlawfully occupies East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Israel denies this — it considers East Jerusalem part of the Israeli capital of Jerusalem. Palestinians want part of the city for their hoped-for independent state.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.