Occupied Jerusalem – Among the rubble of 3 homes belonging to his family and the Israeli occupation on February 15, the young Jerusalemite, Muhammad Bashir, was moving around like walking on the ruins of his life and memories.

From an iron gate reached the place in the town of Jabal Mukaber in occupied Jerusalem, Al Jazeera Net managed to cross into demolished houses, where the visitor is surprised by the guard dog is still in place, although what was guarding it disappeared and turned into piles of stones.

Mohammed walked around with his father, Ibrahim Bashir, over the rubble, and from time to time he pointed to the location of the kitchen at times and the other rooms at other times, then he looked up and was silent for a moment as he stared at the almond tree whose fruit no one had harvested, and said, "I have never felt the desire to pick these fruits as now."

He uttered these words, but his hands were unable to pick any fruit, so he turned his back and went out after saying angrily, "Since 1992, the occupation has punished us, demolished 5 houses for us and threatened to demolish the sixth after the end of the month of Ramadan."

Under the pretext of "building without a permit", the occupation demolished 4 houses of Ibrahim Bashir and his sons, while the family was forced to self-demolish the fifth house to avoid paying the exorbitant costs of its demolition if the bulldozers of the occupation municipality carried it out.

The occupation demolished during 30 years 5 homes of the Bashir family in the town of Jabal Al-Mukaber in occupied Jerusalem (Al-Jazeera)

Drain and demolish

Israeli official departments, lawyers, and engineers drained the family, according to Mohammed, and although they never failed to pay their fines, court fees and costs, this did not protect their homes from the specter of demolition.

"The goal of the occupation is clear from this policy, wants to expel young Jerusalemites out of the city towards the West Bank in order to empty the capital, but this policy and others will not succeed because we are the sons of Jerusalem born and live and we will die in it," these words concluded Mohammed Bashir speaking to Al Jazeera Net.

The town of Jabal Mukaber in Jerusalem covers an area of 4,37 dunams (one thousand square meters) and is inhabited by <>,<> Jerusalemites.

According to Raed Bashir, legal adviser to the town's institutions, 132 homes are at risk of Israeli demolition at any moment under the pretext of building them without permits.

Part of the facilities built by the European Union in the Bedouin community of Abu al-Nuwar, east of Jerusalem (Al-Jazeera)

Record demolition figures

The European Union office in occupied Jerusalem documented a total of 953 demolitions or seizures of buildings in the West Bank and eastern governorates of the holy city during 2022, the highest toll of such violations since 2016.

The percentage of buildings whose owners were forced to self-demolish increased significantly, according to a report issued by the European Union, jumping from 34% in 2021 to 51% in 2022, in addition to the increase in the number of targeted facilities in Bedouin communities and grazing areas.

According to the report, which Al Jazeera Net received a copy of, more than 80% of the demolished buildings, equivalent to 781 buildings, are located in areas classified "C" (areas under full Israeli control according to the Oslo Agreement), and 28,446 Palestinian citizens were affected as a result of their demolition.

Among the buildings targeted in 2022 were also 101 buildings constructed by the European Union or EU member states, the highest number since 2016.

The occupation authorities implement demolition orders within days of their issuance (Al Jazeera)

The Union's report documented one of the disturbing data related to the seizure of buildings based on military order "1797", through which residents are notified of the decision to demolish their homes 96 hours before the implementation and give them a very limited time to appeal this decision legally.

The daily tracking showed a trend of punitive demolitions targeting Areas A and B (areas under partial or full control of the Palestinian Authority), in addition to the demolition orders that affected Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank, where more than a thousand Palestinians live, and the village of Al-Walaja, south of Jerusalem.

The EU report noted the rise in settler violence in tandem with an increase in demolitions.

849 incidents were documented in 2022, representing a 58% increase compared to 2021 and a 123% increase compared to 2020.