Overview
- Israeli forces removed 11 Palestinian families from Batn al-Hawa in Silwan on Wednesday, according to on-the-ground reporting and rights groups.
- Police then escorted members of the Ateret Cohanim settler group into the emptied buildings, with videos showing furniture hurled from windows and Israeli flags raised.
- Officials enforced orders rooted in a 1970 Israeli law that lets Jews reclaim property from before 1948, a path Palestinians cannot use, sometimes backed by Ottoman-era records.
- B’Tselem warned the move signals a wider eviction drive that puts about 2,200 Silwan residents at risk, while the Norwegian Refugee Council said the vacated homes are expected to be allocated to Ateret Cohanim.
- The evictions unfolded as settler attacks in the West Bank escalated, with the army citing arson on Saturday and medics reporting beatings that injured Palestinians in several villages.