Israel Begins to Demolish Palestinian Homes in East Jerusalem

An Israeli machinery demolishes a Palestinian building in the village of Sur Baher which sits on either side of the Israeli barrier in East Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
An Israeli machinery demolishes a Palestinian building in the village of Sur Baher which sits on either side of the Israeli barrier in East Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
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Israel Begins to Demolish Palestinian Homes in East Jerusalem

An Israeli machinery demolishes a Palestinian building in the village of Sur Baher which sits on either side of the Israeli barrier in East Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
An Israeli machinery demolishes a Palestinian building in the village of Sur Baher which sits on either side of the Israeli barrier in East Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank July 22, 2019. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma

Israeli forces began on Monday to demolish dozens of Palestinian houses in an east Jerusalem neighborhood.

The operation in one of the largest of its kind in years, the Associated Press (AP) repored.

Israel claimed the buildings were too close to its West Bank separation barrier, while residents said the buildings are on West Bank land, and the Palestinian Authority provided them with construction permits.

Following a Supreme Court decision allowing the demolitions, Israeli crews moved into the neighborhood overnight with a massive construction vehicles smashing through the roofs of several buildings, while large excavators were digging through the rubble.

The United Nations said some 20 people already living in the buildings were being displaced, while 350 owners of properties that were under construction or not yet inhabited were also affected.

According to AP, Israel captured east Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war. The international community considers both areas to be occupied territory, and the Palestinians seek them as parts of a future independent state.

Israel built its separation barrier in the early 2000s in a step that it says was needed to prevent Palestinian suicide bombers from reaching Israel from the West Bank, however, for Palestinians the structure is an illegal land grab because it juts into the West Bank in many places.



Pope Leo Calls for End to 'Barbarity of War' after Strike on Gaza Church

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
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Pope Leo Calls for End to 'Barbarity of War' after Strike on Gaza Church

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

Pope Leo called for an end to the 'barbarity of war' on Sunday as he spoke of his profound pain over an Israeli strike on the sole Catholic church in Gaza.

Three people died and several were injured, including the parish priest, in the strike on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City on Thursday. Photos show its roof has been hit close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and shattering windows, Reuters reported.

Speaking after his Angelus prayer, Leo read out the names of those killed in the incident.

"I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, of indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population," he said.