Demolitions & Displacement in the occupied West Bank and within the state of Israel - December 2025 Report
On 22 December, when people were already involved in Christmas celebrations, the world was torn apart for 100 Palestinians when Israeli authorities demolished a four-story building in Wadi Qadum, a neighborhood in Silwan, East Jerusalem. The area was closed off in the early morning as a large force of the Israeli army stormed in along with demolition equipment. The 13 apartments were flattened with residents, mainly children left homeless. With little that escaped the violent hammering of the pneumatic drills, Palestinians families were left traumatized and must somehow begin again after their belongings were buried under the rubble and they were cast out.
Within East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities demolished more than 460 residential buildings in 2025, along with more than 1,570 demolitions in the West Bank, where this figure includes structures vital for living such as agricultural structures, commercial establishments, schools, solar panels, and cisterns. However, in the last twelve months, Israel’s campaign of ethnic cleansing has also included roads and parks, so this is why tens of thousands of Palestinians are left affected. On 9 December, the public park and playground with its football pitch and volleyball court in Mikhmas impacted on its population of 2,000, where that month Israel also has uprooted 40 olive trees.
In 2025, more entire communities were erased as residents were forcibly displaced largely due to terrorism from Israel’s violent settlers who are given protection by the Israeli army. An example is in Khirbat Yanun, located southeast of Nablus. It had long been threatened thus for many years, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) had sent in internationals to monitor the situation, write stories and advocate for justice. The last remaining families in Yanun packed up and departed at the end of December, enabling settlers to claim their land.
Israeli civil administration along with Israeli forces demolished a seed production facility that was being used as a storage and control unit in al-Simiya, Hebron. The incident took place in area C allegedly for lacking an Israeli issued building permit. According to the implementing Palestinian agency, the seed production unit supports about 2,500 Palestinian farmers across the West Bank with seed.
On 31 July 2025, the Israeli Civil Administration, accompanied by four military jeeps and two concrete mixers, sealed off two artesian water wells located in Area B of Bayt Dajan village, east of Nablus city. The operation was carried out without prior notice, although multiple visits by Israeli forces and civil administration officials had previously taken place to photograph and inspect the sites. The sealing of the wells reportedly comes from the Israeli authorities’ control over water resources in the West Bank. Notices of seizure were handed over after the wells were sealed. The first artesian well, nearly 400 meters deep, had been fully operational for nearly three years, supplying water to the joint network of Bayt Dajan and nearby Bayt Furik. It served as a contributing source of drinking water and supported the irrigation of over 100 dunums of greenhouses cultivating tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and other crops.
The second well, around 370 meters deep, was in its trial operation period. It was constructed to supply water to a poultry slaughterhouse, irrigate olive-planted lands, and support the community water network. This sealing operation has significantly impacted the water resources of Bayt Dajan and Bayt Furik, reducing availability by an estimated 20%. It directly affected the livelihoods of three families (11 people, including two children) who owned the wells, and indirectly impacted the broader two communities of nearly 23,000 residents, particularly in terms of drinking water access and agricultural irrigation.
Photo: al-Za`ayyem Bedouins families gather amid the ruins of their demolished homes, Jerusalem, 24 December 2025. Source: OCHA.
