Israel’s demolition drive displaces thousands across occupied West Bank

Israel’s demolition campaign against Palestinian homes and infrastructure in the occupied West Bank continues at full force, according to new data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha).

The agency’s latest figures show that in 2025 alone, Israeli forces have demolished at least 1,434 Palestinian structures — including homes, livestock shelters, water tanks and even donor-funded facilities — displacing more than 1,800 people.

Since 2009, thousands of Palestinian-owned buildings have been destroyed or seized, OCHA said, creating what it described as a “coercive environment” designed to push Palestinians off their land.

Most demolitions are concentrated in Area C and occupied East Jerusalem, where Israel almost never grants Palestinians building permits, effectively suffocating Palestinian development and population growth while expanding illegal settlements nearby.