Demolitions.
Destruction and self-destruction.
In the following update, Qadir al–Thaer—whose previous reporting appears hereand here—reports on the recent demolition of a large residential building in the Palestinian community of Beit Ummar. The town of 18,000 inhabitants is located eleven kilometers north of the city of Hebron, whose Arabic name, al–Khalil, means “the friend.”
At my request, al–Thaer submitted a follow-up report documenting conversations with members of three families from al–Arroub, the refugee camp where al–Thaer lives. All of these families have had their homes demolished. This second report is published below the first and offers a glimpse of the impact home demolitions have on Palestinian communities.
As the ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza advances through its final stage of starvation and mass slaughter—conducted with U.S. and German complicity in the form of weapons and political cover—the terrorist state of Israel continues its illegal home demolitions throughout the West Bank.
What, we must ask ourselves—those of us with any functioning moral conscience—is being demolished along with Gaza and homes in the West Bank?
The answer, clear enough, was demonstrated in New York City last Thursday, 24 April, when a pro–Israel mob—all of them Orthodox Jewish men—staged a brutal attack on a woman they assumed was pro–Palestinian. As they shoved, kicked, and spat on her they shouted, “Kill all Arabs!”
With every city and home it destroys, with every Palestinian it kills, Israel demonstrates the depravity of Zionism while demolishing the humanity of its own citizens and everyone who supports its illegal occupation of the West Bank and genocidal rampage in Gaza.
—C.M.
Qadir al–Thaer
30 APRIL—In the early morning hours of 21 April, Israeli military forces carried out a large-scale demolition operation in the town of Beit Ummar, located in the southern West Bank. At approximately 6:00 a.m., residents were startled awake as three bulldozers and more than 15 military jeeps entered the neighborhood and surrounded a seven-story residential building owned by Mohammad Alqam.
The building, which was home to multiple families, was demolished under the pretext of “posing a security threat to nearby Israeli settlements or military forces.” Residents of the area were forcibly evacuated, and all access to the site was blocked during the operation. The demolition began from the top floors downward and took approximately six hours to complete.
The owner of the building, Mohammad Alqam, experienced a severe psychological shock upon witnessing the destruction of his life’s work. According to eyewitnesses and local medical sources, he suffered a heart attack during the incident and was rushed to a nearby hospital. As of the time of this report, his medical condition remains unknown.
This sudden and aggressive military action left families displaced, and the entire community in deep shock and fear. The operation was conducted without prior notice and with excessive military presence, creating an atmosphere of intimidation and collective punishment.
This incident is yet another stark example of the systematic injustices Palestinians endure under Israeli occupation in the West Bank. The demolition of homes and buildings without fair trial, due process, or alternative solutions constitutes a clear violation of international humanitarian law and the right to housing and dignity.
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Al–Thaer’s first report ends there.
What follows is a second report, documenting his recent conversations with three families whose homes were demolished in al–Arroub—one in 2019 and two in 2024.
Here is al–Thaer’s report:
“If we were in their place, we would never do to them what they have done to us!”
These were the words of Mahmoud Haroun Halaika, a Palestinian man who lost his home in al-Arroub refugee camp. I had asked him if he would ever do the same to the Israeli occupiers if the roles were reversed—if he had been the strong and they had been the weak.
Mahmoud was one of the many Palestinians that my friend and I met during her visit to Palestine. She had come to film a documentary about the suffering of the Palestinian people and expressed a desire to meet families who had endured hardship. I suggested visiting families of martyrs and those whose homes had been demolished by the occupation.
Her eagerness quickly faded and was replaced by overwhelming sorrow, as the heavy reality of their stories unfolded before her.
Mahmoud Haroun’s Story: Dream Turned to Rubble
Our first visit was to Mahmoud Haroun, whose house was demolished at the end of December 2024. He told us how he had lived peacefully in that house for two years without any trouble.
That peace ended when an Israeli intelligence officer began calling Mahmoud, pressuring him to work as a collaborator. When Mahmoud refused, the officer threatened him.
On the morning of 23 December, Mahmoud was awakened at six o'clock by loud banging at his door. Opening it, he found Israeli soldiers waiting. They gave him and his family ten minutes to gather whatever they could before demolition began. When Mahmoud asked to see a legal demolition order, one of the I.O.F. officers put a gun to his head and ordered immediate evacuation.
They barely managed to grab a few clothes. The soldiers forced the entire family, the children included, to stay and watch their home be destroyed.
The following video documents the demolition:
The photo below shows the remaining pile of rubble.
“Even if they demolish my house a hundred times, we will not leave our land,” Mahmoud told us. His dream home is gone. Now he and his family live in a rented flat—a symbol of everything stolen from them.
The Humble Farmer: Majed Abu Maria
Next we visited Majed Abu Maria, a simple, kind-hearted farmer and a man I know personally. Abu Maria grows his own vegetables and sells them to survive. His home is modest, resting on the camp’s edge.
Nearby was his brother’s house, which was built with great effort. This home was destroyed by Israeli forces under the claim that it “threatened” Israeli citizens traveling along Route 60.
This is one of the many absurdities Palestinians endure: a home classified as a security threat.
After his brother’s home was demolished, Majed himself faced severe harassment. Israeli forces demolished his greenhouses, again claiming they endangered Israelis traveling Route 60.
Majed was ordered—and forced to demolish by himself—one room of his own house. He feared the heavy financial penalties if Israeli bulldozers came instead. He also lost a small storage shed—a humble donation from a charity—that was also deemed a “threat” to Israeli security.
It’s hard to tell whether such absurdities should make us laugh, cry, or scream. Maybe it’s a mixture of all three. Maybe we’ve simply lost our minds from the endless injustice.
The Khanna Family: Hope Built and Crushed
The third and fourth homes we documented belonged to the Khanna family, refugees from al–Arroub. Sadly, we couldn’t meet them personally as they had already left the camp.
One of the brothers, Khaled Khanna, had his home demolished in 2019 without warning. Bulldozers came without advance notice and flattened his house. Seeking help, Khaled turned to international organizations. With the assistance of a British charity, he secured funds and even received a rare building permit from Israeli authorities.
Khanna built a new house near the original site and moved in, full of hope, only for the new home to be demolished again after just three months in 2024.
His brother's home nearby was also demolished.
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Al–Thaer ended this report with the following observation:
This is life for Palestinians: Oppression and injustice. Displacement and destruction. Continuous suffering. A resilience no army can destroy.
