Police demolish Beit Hanina compound used to house Palestinians without permits

Israel Police demolished part of a compound in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of Jerusalem on Friday after it was found to have housed Palestinians from the West Bank without permits. The demolition followed an operation three weeks ago in which 155 Palestinians were apprehended. Five more were found on site despite a closure order and were deported before the demolition.

Israel Police demolished part of a compound in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of Jerusalem on Friday after it was found to have been used to house Palestinians from the West Bank living there without permits. The demolition followed an operation at the site around three weeks ago, during which police apprehended 155 Palestinians from the West Bank, according to a police statement. During a follow-up operation on Friday, forces located five additional Palestinians at the compound despite a closure order having been issued for the site. They were questioned and deported to areas of the West Bank before the section of the compound used to house them was demolished in cooperation with the Jerusalem Municipality. Separately, a Bedouin community in the West Bank was also in the process of being demolished in preparation for the E1 settlement plan near Jerusalem, according to a joint statement from Israeli NGOs Bimkom, Ir Amim, and Peace Now. The NGOs emphasized that the demolished structures included homes, kitchens, and sanitation facilities, displacing about 20 Bedouin residents. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded that 1,429 Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank have been demolished by Israeli authorities in 2026, leading to the displacement of 2,048 people, though the report acknowledged that most demolitions are due to a lack of Israeli-issued permits.