Police demolish part of Jerusalem compound used to house Palestinians without permits

Israel Police said Friday, November 6, that part of a compound in Jerusalem's Beit Hanina neighborhood had been demolished after authorities found it was being used to accommodate Palestinians from the West Bank who were living there without permits. The demolition affected the section used to house them, according to police.

The action came after an earlier police operation at the same location approximately three weeks before. In that operation, officers apprehended 155 Palestinians from the West Bank, the police statement said. A closure order had been issued for the compound before forces returned to the property on Friday.

During Friday's follow-up operation, police said they found five more Palestinians at the site despite the closure order. The five were questioned and then deported to areas of the West Bank. According to the police account, those steps took place before authorities proceeded with the demolition of the accommodation section.

Police said the demolition was carried out in cooperation with the Jerusalem Municipality. Their statement described the removal of part of the compound following the latest operation, which found people still staying at a location that had already been ordered closed after coming to the attention of authorities.

Separately, three Israeli nongovernmental organizations reported Thursday that a Bedouin community in the West Bank was undergoing demolition in preparation for the E1 settlement plan near Jerusalem. Bimkom, Ir Amim and Peace Now described the operation in a joint statement issued a day before the police announcement about Beit Hanina.

The organizations said the structures demolished in the Bedouin community included homes as well as kitchens and sanitation facilities. According to their joint statement, the operation displaced about 20 Bedouin residents. Their account concerned the community affected by preparations for E1, separate from the police operation at the Jerusalem compound.

Figures recorded by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA, show that Israeli authorities have demolished 1,429 Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank in 2026, displacing 2,048 people. The OCHA report also acknowledged that most demolitions are typically carried out because the structures lack permits issued by Israel.