RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestine warned on Friday that more than 200 Palestinian families in Jerusalem are at risk of forced displacement as it urged international intervention.

The Foreign Ministry said residents of the Silwan neighborhood face the threat of eviction from their homes by Israelis who have seized Palestinian land.

“More than 200 Palestinian families, comprising around 900 people in East Jerusalem, are facing forced displacement and imminent eviction threats, mostly as a result of lawsuits filed in Israeli courts by extremist settler organizations,” it said in a statement.

The ministry said Israeli courts are being used “as a tool to entrench an illegal and unprecedented reality and to grant it false legitimacy in the Holy City,” adding that “occupation courts are part of the occupation’s criminal practices.”

It noted an increase in forced evictions targeting Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, condemning “in the strongest terms” the eviction of 15 families last week from the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood in Silwan, as well as demolition orders for seven homes in Qalandiya.

The statement said developments in Jerusalem are part of a plan “aimed at Judaizing the Holy City, displacing the Palestinian people, and altering its demographic composition.”

Calling on the international community to act, Palestine urged states and international organizations to take “more decisive and concrete steps” to prevent ongoing forced displacement.

It also urged “activating diplomatic pressure mechanisms and strengthening the international presence on the ground.”

The statement stressed the need to protect Palestinian rights, prevent forced displacement, and stop attempts to change Jerusalem’s demographic structure, calling for all Israeli measures to be considered “null and void legally.”

The UN said on March 26 that Israeli forces forcibly evicted at least 16 Palestinian families from the Batn al-Hawa area of Silwan.

Israeli forces have carried out daily violations of a ceasefire in place since Oct. 10, which have killed 691 people and wounded 1,876 others as of March 18, according to Palestinian Health Ministry data.

Israel launched a war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, killing more than 72,000 Palestinians, wounding around 172,000 others, and devastating about 90% of the civilian infrastructure.

*Writing by Merve Berker