The citizen Mahmoud Abu Diab and his wife Nazmia Masouda demolished their home on February 11, 2022, following repeated threats by the occupation municipality in Jerusalem to demolish the house under the pretext of building without  a license, and the family has suffered from that threat for more than twenty years. It was crisscrossed by many court violations, in addition to the imprisonment of Malik Nazmiya more than once, following prosecution by the municipality.

The demolished house is located on Al-Saleheen Street in Ras Al-Amoud - Silwan, with an area of 90 square meters, at a cost of about 120,000 shekels, equivalent to 40 thousand US dollars at the time in 2001, and it included the husband, wife and their only daughter, who got married a short time ago. Many neighbors gathered to help the family demolish, reconcile and raise their spirits.

It’s important to mention the great suffering that the family faced, whether in terms of dispersal and displacement, or imprisonment and violations and the large sums incurred, or in terms of psychological and health aspects, the owner Nazmiya Masouda expressed the long suffering in the corridors of the courts and prison and the financial guarantees that prompted her to be released twice, as well as the disputes she paid for the house, which totaled about 120,000 shekels, about $40,000.

This is in addition to the health issues of Al-Jaba’a, who suffers from breast cancer, poliomyelitis, skin vitiligo and old age which is 65 years old, as she lost the house that sheltered her at this age.

Silwan is located to the southeast of the walls of the city of Jerusalem, and it is considered the natural extension of the Old City. Silwan faces many dangers that threaten all its residents. Judaization projects deeply affect the demographic structure of the village, through archaeological excavations, the purchase and leakage of citizens’ properties, or the demolishing operations, which all have created a lack of space and the high costs that the municipality imposes on the residents of the village if they try to expand, in addition to transforming the village into a densely populated camp, with no outlet or room for horizontal or vertical urban expansion. It is intended for this village to be abandoned and turned into a large settlement gathering under false pretexts such as the alleged historical value on the Palestinian land of Silwan.

This report was published as part of Project activities:

“Supporting Marginalized Communities in Jerusalem through Legal Aid and advocacy"

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of Land Research Center and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the project donor; the EU

إخلاء المسؤولية: الآراء ووجهات النظر الواردة في هذا التقرير هي آراء ووجهات نظر مركز أبحاث الأراضي ولا تعكس بالضرورة وجهات نظر أو مواقف الجهة المانحة للمشروع؛ الاتحاد الاوروبي