An update by: Bimkom, Ir Amim, and Peace Now:
Israeli authorities have demolished nearly half the structures in Bir al-Maskub, a Palestinian Bedouin community in the planned E1 settlement area east of Jerusalem, displacing around 20 residents. Demolition orders have also been renewed for all remaining buildings, raising fears that the entire community could be destroyed as Israel advances one of its most controversial settlement projects in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli authorities demolished nearly half the structures in the Palestinian Bedouin community of Bir al-Maskub on November 3, displacing approximately 20 residents. The demolitions affected around four residential compounds, including homes, kitchens and sanitation facilities. According to Bimkom – Planning and Human Rights, Ir Amim and Peace Now, these are the first known demolitions of structures belonging to Bedouin communities within the E1 settlement area since the latest advancement of the plans.
The three organizations say the demolitions mark a significant escalation in Israel’s efforts to advance E1, a settlement project involving 3,401 housing units east of Jerusalem. Demolition orders dating back to 2008 have also been renewed for all remaining structures in Bir al-Maskub, raising fears that the entire community could be destroyed. Other Bedouin communities in the area, home to hundreds of Palestinians, could face similar measures.
Guy Yifrah, mayor of the nearby Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, said in a Facebook post that the demolitions were carried out at the municipality’s initiative, following its request to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). The demolished structures were located more than one kilometer from the nearest homes in Ma’ale Adumim. The three organizations say this undermines any claim that the demolitions were driven by local planning needs and instead points to an effort to remove Palestinian residents from land earmarked for a new Israeli settlement. The demolitions took place while legal challenges to the E1 settlement plans remain pending before an Israeli court.
The E1 project, which would establish a large Israeli settlement between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, has long drawn international opposition because it threatens to fragment Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank and undermine the prospects for a viable Palestinian state.
The fate of Palestinian Bedouin communities in the area has also been raised in legal proceedings challenging the E1 plans. In its response to a petition filed by the three organizations alongside Palestinian residents, the Israeli government argued that the Bedouin population’s way of life, involving movement and grazing across large areas without formal planning or property arrangements, could not stand in the way of development. The organizations say the government’s position reflects a policy that treats Palestinian communities as obstacles to settlement expansion.
In a joint statement, Bimkom, Ir Amim and Peace Now said:
“Israel has moved from settlement planning to displacement on the ground. The demolition of nearly half the structures in Bir al-Maskub, along with renewed demolition orders for the rest, marks the beginning of an effort to erase an entire Palestinian community.
E1 is not simply about building thousands of homes for Israeli settlers. It also involves dispossessing Palestinian communities and driving them from their homes and land to make way for a new settlement. What has begun in Bir al-Maskub could spread to other communities where hundreds of Palestinians live. These actions raise grave concerns about the forcible transfer of a protected population, in violation of international law.”