AMMAN, Oct. 18 (Petra) – The Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs strongly condemned Sunday the escalating forced home demolitions executed by Israeli occupation authorities in occupied Jerusalem, denouncing coercive measures that compel Palestinian families to demolish their own homes.

In a press statement to the Jordan News Agency (Petra), Committee Secretary-General Abdullah Kanaan expressed outrage over systematic practices aimed at altering the demographic and geographical character of the Holy City and displacing its indigenous Arab population. He cited the recent forced evacuation of Palestinian households in the Wad Qaddum neighborhood of Silwan as a stark example of ongoing humanitarian distress imposed on Jerusalemite families.

Kanaan noted that the policy of "self-demolition"–where home owners are coerced into dismantling their properties or facing prohibitive administrative fines from occupation authorities–represents a grave violation of basic human rights aimed at undermining Palestinian resilience, particularly in Silwan and districts surrounding the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

According to statistical data compiled by the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs, a cumulative total of 3,917 Palestinian homes have been demolished in occupied Jerusalem from 1967 through October 1, 2026.

Warning against the accelerated pace of structural demolitions documented across Palestinian reports in the first half of this year, Kanaan called for urgent international action to hold Israeli authorities accountable under international humanitarian law and safeguard the Palestinian right to shelter and dignified living.

"Jerusalem is not merely a real estate dispute or an architectural file; it is a core national, historical, and civilizational issue bound to the Palestinian people's right to their land, sanctities, and national identity," Kanaan stated, rejecting all unilateral measures designed to alter the city's legal, historical, and demographic status quo.

The Committee reaffirmed Jordan’s steadfast posture under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II in defending Jerusalem's Islamic and Christian holy sites, bolstering the resilience of its Arab residents, and backing the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to establish an independent, sovereign state on the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the two-state solution.

It emphasized that the historic Hashemite Custodianship over Jerusalem’s holy sites remains a pivotal religious, historical, and national duty that Jordan continues to exercise to preserve the legal status quo and counter encroachments targeting the city's Arab and spiritual identity.

The Committee urged the United Nations, human rights organizations, and the international community to honor their legal and moral obligations by halting forced evictions, protecting Jerusalemites, and enforcing international resolutions to achieve a just and lasting peace.

//Petra// AA