Demolition and Devastation: Israeli Occupation Forces Raze Palestinian Homes in West Bank

Suhail Khaliliya, the director of the Settlement Monitoring Unit at the ARIJ Institute for Applied Research in Jerusalem, warned that the decision by extremist Israeli Minister Smotrich to expand settlements east of Bethlehem could lead to the demolition of around 3,000 homes and other facilities in the area.

The occupation has escalated his attacks on Al-Malha, demolishing several homes and notifying others of impending demolition, in a bid to displace residents and seize the land for colonial purposes.

Israeli Occupation Forces Storm Jalazone Refugee Camp
In a separate incident, Israeli occupation forces raided the Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah, on Monday. Local sources reported that the troops subjected the mother of detainee Mohammed Rafiq Nakhleh to field investigation. The forces also closed her son’s shop on the main street and raided a place prepared to receive Nakhleh, who has been imprisoned by the occupation for 20 years.

Demolition Notices Issued for Homes and Facilities Near Jerusalem
Israeli occupation authorities have also notified the demolition of multiple houses and structures in Silwan, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the village of Al-Issawiya, northeast of occupied Jerusalem. While demolition orders on land belonging to the Burqan family in Silwan’s Ain Al-Lawza neighborhood were temporarily suspended, the occupation forces raided facilities in Al-Issawiya and issued demolition notices.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission reported that the occupation authorities notified the demolition of 131 facilities in the Hebron governorate during January 2025.

Homes and Cave Demolished in Masafer Yatta
In another incident, Israeli occupation authorities demolished five Palestinian houses and a cave in Khallet al-Dabaa, which is affiliated with the village council in At-Tuwana, south of Hebron.

The head of the At-Tuwana village council, Muhammad Rabie, stated that the occupation forces used heavy machinery to demolish the homes and cave, which housed around 40 people, mostly women and children.

The occupation forces also destroyed the main and secondary electricity and water networks in Khallet al-Dabaa and bulldozed the surrounding trees and crops. The owners of the demolished homes and lands have appealed to national, human rights, and international institutions to intervene and put an end to these barbaric practices and the ongoing attacks by settlers against Palestinians and their property in the area.

Israeli Settlers Rampage against Palestinians Amid Ongoing Raids
In the wake of the recent Gaza ceasefire, the occupied West Bank has descended into chaos, with Israeli settlers launching a campaign of violence against Palestinian communities. This “all-out war” on the Palestinian people continues unabated, according to the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.

“Since the ceasefire began on January 19, we have been seeing more military raids on cities and villages in the West Bank, so far killing dozens of people,” B’Tselem said in a statement on Sunday. “This is not what ceasefire looks like.”
The group reported that settlers have “attacked communities almost every night last week, sometimes with soldiers standing by.” In the latest incident, Israeli settlers physically assaulted Palestinians and destroyed olive trees in the town of Khirbet al-Marajem, south of Nablus.

The escalating aggression comes as the Israeli occupation military launched a major offensive in the occupied West Bank on January 21, just two days after the Gaza ceasefire took effect. ‘Israel’ claimed the raids were targeting “resistance fighters,” but the crackdown has resulted in the deaths of at least three Palestinians on Sunday alone.