Five buildings in Biddu were demolished without warning, residents say. Jerusalem officials recorded 471 demolition and land-clearing operations through October.
The demolition of five residential buildings in Biddu has left more than 100 Palestinians displaced and added to a rising tally of demolitions around Jerusalem. Residents say Israeli forces arrived without warning on Thursday morning, gave families little time to leave and prevented them from retrieving their belongings.
A Palestinian man stands among the rubble of five residential buildings demolished by Israeli forces in Biddu, occupied West Bank, on 5 November 2026 (Mohammed Turkman/MEE).
Troops raided the town northwest of Jerusalem in the early hours and ordered residents out of 12 apartments. Homeowners said soldiers fired stun grenades and tear gas, then began demolishing the buildings before people could collect furniture, clothes or other possessions.
Ahmad Abu Eid said the properties belonged to him, his sons and his daughter. He told Middle East Eye that the family received no advance warning and was given insufficient time to evacuate. Abu Eid suspects the demolitions were retaliation connected to his son Salman, a former prisoner released in last year’s prisoner exchange deal and deported to Egypt.
“What has happened to us is what happens to all Palestinians. We have no other land, and we will endure whatever they do to us,” he said.
Israeli soldiers cited the absence of building permits. The homes are in Area C, which remains under Israeli administrative and security control under the territorial divisions established by the 1995 Oslo agreement. Area A is under Palestinian Authority administrative and security control; in Area B, the PA administers civil affairs while Israel controls security.
Palestinians say permits to build legally in Area C are rarely granted, despite the frequent use of permit violations as grounds for demolitions. The Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate office called the Biddu operation a dangerous escalation that threatens Palestinian presence on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It also warned of the consequences for families who have lost their homes.
Residents cite pending cases
Salem Abu Eid, a member of Biddu’s municipal council, said the demolished complex housed nine Palestinian families. He said two of the homes were not covered by judicial demolition orders, although legal challenges had been filed in Israeli courts.
Authorities had previously issued stop-construction notices for more than 20 homes in Biddu, he said. Homeowners submitted objections to the Israeli Civil Administration in Beit El, and lawyers are handling several cases.
“The last demolition in the town took place several months ago, targeting a structure built of wood and tile, alongside the bulldozing of what is known as the municipal park,” Salem Abu Eid said.
Salem Abu Eid said Israeli authorities also invoke the homes’ location in Area C or their proximity to the separation wall. The nearest targeted property, he said, is about 700 metres from the wall. He urged Palestinian officials to compensate the families and help them secure alternative housing or rebuild elsewhere.
“We urge official authorities to compensate the families for their lost homes and property, and to assist in providing alternative housing or constructing new homes for them even if in different locations,” he said.
Demolitions add to a rising tally
The Jerusalem Governorate office reported 427 demolition and land-clearing operations during the first nine months of 2026. Its count included 66 cases in which Palestinians were forced to demolish their own homes, 294 demolitions carried out with Israeli machinery and 32 land-levelling operations.
The office recorded another 44 demolition or land-levelling operations in October, bringing its January-to-October total to 471. The figures include homes, other structures and land, and do not represent residential demolitions alone.
The count gives a wider frame to what happened in Biddu: families there face both immediate displacement and unresolved objections over homes already served with stop-construction notices.
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