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Israel’s Ben-Gvir orders Arab home demolitions in East Jerusalem during Ramadan

Despite warnings from security agencies of possible flare-up, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered the police to continue the demolition of homes in east Jerusalem, even during the month of Ramadan.
Israeli military bulldozers demolish a house of a Palestinian family, built without the municipality's permission, in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Wadi al-Joz on March 6, 2023.  (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has reportedly instructed police in Jerusalem to carry out demolitions of homes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins on March 22, and which could ignite more flare-ups between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported that Ben-Gvir, a far right ultranationalist figure in the Benjamin Netanyahu government, ordered the demolition of "illegally constructed homes" in East Jerusalem, an especially sensitive point in Palestinian neighborhoods, where restrictions mount and licenses to build homes are rarely granted by Israel. 

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