Can Palestinians Blame Trump For Stepped-Up Home Demolitions?
A 2013 home demolition in East Jerusalem Image by Oren Ziv/Getty Images
By Naomi Zeveloff February 21, 2017
President Trump’s election is having a direct effect on the ground in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, as evidenced by an uptick in Palestinian home demolitions in East Jerusalem.
According to a report in Haaretz, a source in the Jerusalem municipality’s office linked the demolitions to a change in government restrictions with the arrival of the new U.S. administration.
The structures are built without permits, though Palestinian residents say that they tried to receive a permit before building or to get retroactive approval, which is almost never approved.
Since the beginning of January, 40 housing units in East Jerusalem have been demolished, compared with 203 in all of 2016.
In addition to the rise in home demolitions, President Trump’s inauguration was followed by the rapid approval of around 6,000 settlement units in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
In the past, such policies were met with U.S. condemnation, but Trump has not commented on the specific building approvals and demolitions.
Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected]
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
