East Jerusalem

Quosiy Burqan's children in front of the ruins of their home after it was demolished by Israeli authorities, Silwan, East Jerusalem, November 8, 2019. (Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Activestills.org)

‘My dream was destroyed’: Home demolitions soar in East Jerusalem

A spike in both home demolitions and settlement building in East Jerusalem is forcing Palestinians out of their houses — and jobs.

By Judith Sudilovsky November 25, 2019

Daily police violence is the new norm in Issawiya — with no end in sight

For the past six months, Israeli police have subjected Issawiya's residents to daily raids and arrests. No one seems to know the goal of the operation — including the police.

By Oren Ziv November 13, 2019

The family of East Jerusalem resident Mustafa al-Haruf greets him upon his release from Givon prison after nine months of detention, on October 24, 2019. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Israel releases stateless Palestinian journalist it tried to deport

After nine months in detention and two failed deportation attempts, Israel releases East Jerusalem resident Mustafa al-Haruf. He has been living in Jerusalem for over 20 years, yet Israel refuses to grant him permanent status. Journalist Mustafa al-Haruf, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, was released from Givon Prison on Thursday afternoon after nine months in detention.…

By Oren Ziv October 25, 2019

Latest

An Israeli police officer stands alongside a Shin Bet officer in a scene from HBO's 'Our Boys' (HBO)

Why HBO’s ‘Our Boys’ is a victory for Israeli hasbara

By calling to boycott HBO’s ‘Our Boys,’ Prime Minister Netanyahu misses the fact that the series ends up erasing the occupation’s greatest iniquities while supporting the dominant Israeli narrative. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked controversy in both Israel and across the world late last week when he published a post on his official Facebook page…

By Haggai Matar September 2, 2019

Muhammad Abu Hummus, a political activist from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, is seen speaking to Israeli riot police during a raid on the neighborhood. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

For Jerusalem police, even directing traffic is a form of terrorism

One of East Jerusalem’s most prominent political activists was arrested for supporting terrorism — while trying to solve a traffic jam in his own neighborhood. Israeli police arrested a well-known Palestinian activist in East Jerusalem earlier this week, accusing him of encouraging drivers to run over Israeli officers while he directed traffic in his neighborhood. Muhammad Abu…

By Oren Ziv August 29, 2019

A Palestinian child looks on at a police vehicle in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya. (Yuval Abraham)

In one East Jerusalem neighborhood, summer vacation has become a war zone

For children in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, summer vacation means dodging rubber bullets and watching their fathers and brothers arrested and humiliated every day. By Yuval Abraham At the entrance to Issawiya in East Jerusalem, eight children are laughing as they chase one another in circles. I take out a camera and a few of…

By +972 Magazine August 22, 2019

Palestinian women look on during a raid by Israeli police in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, July 1, 2019. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

In East Jerusalem, nightly raids leave Palestinian neighborhood reeling

For the past six weeks, Israel has been sending paramilitary police forces to raid the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya every evening. The raids, a severe form of collective punishment, have left one young Palestinian dead and hundreds wounded. By Aviv Tatarsky It’s 5:30 p.m. and some 10 large police vans rumble into the East Jerusalem neighborhood…

By +972 Magazine August 4, 2019

Palestinian journalist Mustafa al-Haruf seen at a Jerusalem Court following his arrest for supposed incitement on Facebook. He was released the following day and the case was closed, December 2017.

Jordan turns back stateless Palestinian journalist Israel tried to deport

Israel attempted to deport Mustafa al-Haruf, a stateless Palestinian photographer from East Jerusalem, to Jordan without any coordination. Al-Haruf has been living in the country for over 20 years, yet Israel refuses to grant him permanent status. Jordanian authorities refused to accept a stateless Palestinian journalist from East Jerusalem whom Israel tried to deport to the Hashemite…

By Oren Ziv July 25, 2019

Screenshot from Yuval Abraham's video on the demolition in Wadi Hummus

WATCH: A dark night in Wadi al-Hummus

Israeli police and soldiers demolished dozens of Palestinian families’ apartments in an area that is supposed to be under full Palestinian control this week. Filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Shor stayed with one of those families through the demolitions to tell their story. The families in Wadi al-Hummus built their homes with all the necessary…

By +972 Magazine July 25, 2019

Armed Israeli soldiers storm into a Palestinian home in Sur Baher, East Jerusalem ahead of the building's demolition, early the morning of July 22, 2019. (A. Daniel Roth)

‘Our whole lives are here. Where can we go?’

Spending the night with Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, hoping to stop the bulldozers coming to demolish their homes. By A. Daniel Roth I am awakened by the “thud thud thud” of someone pounding and then the sound stops. It feels like I am waking up after only five minutes of sleep. Each of my…

By +972 Magazine July 22, 2019

Illustrative photo of Birthright visitors lining up to race into the Dead Sea on July 10, 2015. The northern Dead Sea, including Kibbutz Kalia and Kibbutz Almog, are fully in the occupied West Bank. (Matt Hechter/Flash90)

Israeli settlements are a regular destination on Birthright trips

For years, Birthright has been taking participants into the occupied territories, usually without their knowledge or consent. ‘At the end of the day, we Israelis always have been less than truthful about where those lines and boundaries are for tourists,’ one former tour operator says. Before Zachary Popkin-Hall embarked on his Birthright Israel trip in…

By Mairav Zonszein July 16, 2019

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman (left) with White House Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt (center) and Senator Lindsey Graham seen during the opening ceremony of an the Pilgrimage Road at the City of David archaeological site in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, June 30, 2019. (Flash90)

Using archeology in the service of nationalism

The inauguration of a supposed ancient Jewish ‘Pilgrimage Road’ by Ambassador David Friedman and White House envoy Jason Greenblatt is a reminder that archeology is never as neutral as some would like to believe. By Chemi Shiff and Yonathan Mizrachi We tend to think of archeology as a neutral discipline. Archeologists dig up artifacts, date them, and try to build…

By +972 Magazine July 5, 2019

A prisoner seen making a phone call in Gilboa Prison, northern Israel, February 28, 2013. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

Should Palestinian children be able to call parents from prison? Israeli court will decide

Palestinian children in Israeli jails classified as ‘security prisoners’ are denied the right to speak to or see their families, sometimes for months on end. Israel’s top court will hear arguments about whether Palestinian children held in Israeli prisoners should be allowed to call their parents on the phone. Palestinian minors classified by Israel as…

By Edo Konrad June 30, 2019