In occupied East Jerusalem, the threat of forced displacement hangs heavy over hundreds of Palestinian families. Entire communities in Silwan, Um Tuba, and Al-Naaman are now facing imminent eviction and demolition orders, as Israeli authorities accelerate a wave of removals under the veil of legality and war.

For Um Nasser Al-Rajabi, 77, the warning signs came years ago. Settlers seized the property next to her home in Batn Al-Hawa in 2004, and for two decades she lived under constant harassment. Her simple wish, to sleep in peace, remains unfulfilled. Now, she and her two sons have received final eviction orders, sanctioned by Israel’s Supreme Court, in favour of the Ateret Cohanim settler group. They are among dozens of families who have lived in the area for generations, now being stripped of their homes under claims that the land is a 19th-century Jewish endowment.

This isn’t an isolated case. In nearby Um Tuba, residents were stunned to learn that 18 buildings had been registered under the Jewish National Fund without notice, triggering new eviction demands. Many of these homes were built with permits, yet they now stand condemned under a land registration process that Palestinian families were never part of. In Al-Naaman, demolition orders have been issued for every single home, despite residents living in the area for decades, denied any access to legal building permits.

According to Ir Amim, an Israeli human rights organisation, what is happening is not administrative policy but systematic erasure. The legal tools used, eviction notices, registration claims, demolition orders, mask a political agenda aimed at reshaping the demographic fabric of Jerusalem. These acts violate international law, constituting forced displacement under the cover of legality.

While the world’s eyes are fixed on Gaza, East Jerusalem is quietly being emptied of its Palestinian residents, one home at a time.