‘Israeli’ Demolition Campaign Will Never Break Palestinian Resolve: Hamas

Hamas spokesman Mohammed Hamada declared in remarks on Wednesday that the Palestinian residents of occupied al-Quds would never leave their homeland despite the cruel measures by the occupying regime to demolish their homes and will remain steadfast.

“All ‘Israeli’ crimes will not break the al-Quds people's determination and adherence to the Aqsa Mosque,” he added.

Incursions into the holy al-Aqsa Mosque by illegal Zionist settlers under ‘Israeli’ police protection have been on the rise in recent years, leading to the killing, injuring and detention of many Palestinians.

Local Palestinians further maintain that the Tel Aviv regime is systematically devising efforts to Judaize al-Quds -- where al-Aqsa Mosque is located -- and obliterate its Islamic and Arab identity.

Separately, Sami Abu Zuhri, a member of the Hamas movement's political bureau also reiterated that the ‘Israeli’ regime’s imposition of restrictions on Palestinians' entry into the holy mosque and the Old City of al-Quds is aimed at displacing Palestinians.

The Hamas official further emphasized that the enforcement of such unlawful limitations has intensified along with the surging demolition of Palestinian homes by the regime’s brutal forces in the area.

Most recently, authorities of the occupying regime compelled native Palestinian residents in Wadi Qaddum area of Silwan neighborhood to vacate their homes before demolition.

The United Nations declared in early June that the ‘Israeli’ regime demolished nearly 43 Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied cities of West Bank and East al-Quds in the last two weeks of May.

The biweekly Protection of Civilians Report published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA] in Palestine, said the regime forces demolished, confiscated, or forced people to demolish the structures under the pretext of construction without a permit.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency [UNRWA] for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, demolitions are a leading cause of the ongoing displacement and dispossession of the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Demolitions also lead to a significant deterioration in living conditions in general and post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] among Palestinian children and youth.

Tel Aviv regime’s demolitions have hugely increased since late 2022, when Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power, leading to what observers have described as the most right-wing ‘Israeli’ cabinet ever.

Recent UN data reveal a 42 percent increase in all demolitions this year, compared with a similar time frame last year.

At the same time, the Zionist regime has expanded its illegal settlements for ‘Israelis’ in the occupied Palestinian territories.

More than 600,000 Zionist settlers occupy more than 230 settlements built since the 1967 ‘Israeli’ occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and al-Quds.

All ‘Israeli’ settlements are illegal under international law. The United Nations Security Council has condemned the regime’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.