Jabal Al-Mukaber in Jerusalem… A constant battle of steadfastness against demolition and displacement

Israeli occupation forces continue large-scale demolitions in the town of Jabal al-Mukaber, southeast of the occupied city of Jerusalem.

The occupation bulldozers converted a number of homes and facilities into piles of rubble displacing entire families and depriving them of their livelihood. Other families are concerned after the occupation authorities announced their intention to demolish 14 houses in the town, as well as dozens of homes in different areas of Jerusalem, in an attempt to end the Palestinian presence in these areas.

In a statement to SANA, Ratib Matar from Jabal al-Mukaber referred to the tragedy of his family after the occupation demolished their two-storey house last Sunday, saying: “Large numbers of occupying forces surrounded the house, then barbarically stormed it, prevented us from even taking our clothes, and beat children and women. They forced us out of our house and then demolished it in front of our eyes, our dear house, where our memories and dreams turned in a moment into rubble, and we became homeless. “

In response to the war of demolition and forced displacement, the inhabitants of the town launched an ongoing uprising against the occupation following many methods, such as a comprehensive strike that paralyzed all life facilities and a 24-hour tackling to the occupation forces’ intrusions, burning tires, pouring oil on the town’s entrances and placing waste containers on roads to prevent the entry of occupation vehicles and bulldozers, in a way that recalls the 1987 stone uprising.

On behalf of the residents of Silwan town, Fakhri Abu Dayab confirmed that since the beginning of this year, the occupation has intensified demolitions in Jerusalem, destroying some 30 houses, in addition to announcing a plan to demolish 14 houses in Jabal al-Mukaber, which has already begun to be implemented, noting that this plan is part of a massive scheme to demolish 800 houses in the town and establish 500 settlement units in their place.

“The occupation also plans to demolish dozens of shops and industrial facilities in the Wadi al-Jawz neighborhood of Jerusalem as part of a systematic plan to seize land and expand settlement.” Abu Diab confirmed, noting that the occupation has demolished 1,506 homes and facilities in Jerusalem since its occupation in 1967 and placed 22,345 homes on the demolition list, which is equivalent to one third of Jerusalem’s homes, as well as depriving its people of urbanization and forcing them to leave the city to obtain housing.

Coordinator of the People’s Committees to Resist the Wall and Settlements, Salah Al-Khawaja, noted that the occupation is escalating demolitions in Jerusalem to draw a new phase entitled: ethnic cleansing and the uprooting of the Palestinian presence from the city, if the international community does not intervene to halt the hysteria of occupation, which exploits the silence and failure of the international community towards the crimes of forced displacement and the perpetuation of the apartheid regime.

Al-Khawaja stated that the Palestinians declared a struggle program to counter the demolitions in Jerusalem to emphasize that the Palestinian people were clinging to their land and would not allow the occupation to pass its Judaization schemes, stressing the importance of creating a unified Palestinian national strategy to counter the occupation’s attempts to displace Palestinians.

The Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative, Mustafa Al-Barghouti, confirmed that Jabal al-Mukabber and the Palestinians’ courage to confront the occupation there recalls the first intifada and create a new phase of struggle in which Palestinians affirm that they will continue to fight for the restoration of all their rights. They are rooted in their land and will not allow the occupation to uproot them. The occupation’s attacks on Palestinians, their homes and properties in Jabal al-Mukaber and other towns and neighborhoods of Jerusalem and the West Bank are a crime of ethnic cleansing that requires urgent action by the international community to stop them.

Amal Farhat