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The Old City and the adjacent ring of Palestinian neighborhoods—known as the Old City Basin—is the most religiously and politically sensitive part of Jerusalem owing to the concentration of historical assets and holy sites within its confines – most notably, the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. The population density of the Old City and its environs limits the Israeli government’s ability to advance large residential settlements as a means of increasing its territorial hold over the area and altering its demographic character. After more than 57 years of Israeli control over East Jerusalem, nearly 100,000 Palestinians still live in the Old City Basin, alongside some 6,000 Israelis, 3,000 of whom live in the Old City's Jewish Quarter and the rest in small settler enclaves inside Palestinian neighborhoods in and around the Old City. In grappling with this demographic reality and the symbolic and political value of the space, evictions of Palestinian families and settler takeovers of their homes have increasingly been used as a strategy to cement Israeli hegemony over the area. These measures are reinforced by a constellation of tourist and archeological sites operated by settler groups, which together forge a ring of Israeli control around the Old City Basin with the aim of thwarting any future agreed political resolution on Jerusalem.
 
Given their strategic location as gateways to the Old City and the number of historical and religious assets within their bounds--Sheikh Jarrah to the north of the Old City and Silwan to the south--are two Palestinian neighborhoods under greatest pressure from the state and settler groups. Over 150 families, numbering more than 1000 individuals, in these two areas alone are under threat of displacement as a result of eviction claims filed by settler organizations.

This document provides an overview of evictions in both of these neighborhoods as well as an update on the most recent and ongoing eviction cases in each. 

The war in Gaza, which broke out after the attacks of October 7th, has had severe and immediate consequences on East Jerusalem as well. The discrimination, oppression, and violation of human rights to which Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem were already subjected to during regular
times worsened dramatically.
In a new report published on the six-month mark of October 7th, Ir Amim, ACRI: The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Emek Shaveh, and HaMoked:Center for the Defense of the Individual present original data and information on the impact of this period on East Jerusalem Palestinians.
The report shows all areas of life have been significantly affected. Restrictions on movement, including blockades on entire neighborhoods; an increase in aggressive and violent policing; serious violations of freedom of expression in academia, the public sphere and on social networks; unprecedented restrictions on Muslim entry into the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif; the establishment of armed civilian groups within ideological settlements inside Palestinian neighborhoods; a severe employment crisis and growing food insecurity; the acceleration of home demolitions; the expansion of settlements and tourist settlement projects have all deeply harmed Palestinian residents and the prospect of a shared and egalitarian Jerusalem. Added up, these measures paint a very alarming picture of the present and future of the city. 

The year 2023 concluded at the peak of warfare and amid deep crisis in both Israeli and Palestinian societies. The October 7 massacre; 136 Israeli hostages; a bloody war with tens of thousands killed and injured; tremendous destruction in Gaza; hundreds of thousands of people displaced; an acute economic crisis in the West Bank; an escalation in settler violence - all this took place while Israel’s extremist right-wing government continues to incite and inflame and to advance its messianic views. In Jerusalem, while some attempted to utilize the war to agitate and entrench rifts, others launched aid initiatives, making connections and joint actions with East Jerusalem.

Under the shadow of war, the “full-on” right-wing government fast-tracked approval and construction of new settlements in East Jerusalem, while continuing to carry out evictions and demolitions that could lead to the displacement of entire communities. Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, acted beyond his authority and in coordination with right-wing figures in the Jerusalem Municipality in order to increase demolitions in East Jerusalem as an act of collective punishment, constantly “warning” against uprisings in mixed cities.

The war brought the Israeli-Palestinian conflict back to the forefront and emphasized the importance of political processes toward its resolution—without recourse to so-called “conflict management” concepts or unilateral “declarations.” The values in which Ir Amim believes—commitment to genuine equality for all—have not lost their importance, but must now face deepened traumas that have impacted both nations and both communities in Jerusalem. Although Jerusalem is not at the center of the current crisis, it remains, at the same time, the place to which many of its consequences filter back, and a place where it is possible, despite all the challenges involved, to start working towards a just and egalitarian alternative. Jerusalem can be a stumbling block towards a resolution, yet, we believe it can also serve as a model for repair and hope.