is a political act, embedded in a planning and allocation of resources system intended to change the city’s demographics.119 The majority of Palestinian home demolitions in east Jerusalem are administrative: they concern new structures, such as a building that is in progress or a structure that has not been inhabited for at least 60 days.120 Even internal construction or renovation may require a permit and, if conducted without one, residents are exposed to administrative demolition of the whole structure.121 Because the demolition targets the building itself and not its owner, it does not require a court hearing and can be implemented very quickly. The demolition can follow 24 hours after the notification is delivered, leaving the owner extremely short notice to appeal in the Jerusalem Municipal Court.122 Unless there is a technical error in the issuance of the demolition order, the judge has little room to grant an appeal. Lastly, the cost of the demolition is typically billed to the homeowner.123 OCHA has estimated that 2,000 houses in east Jerusalem have been demolished since 1967, as well as thousands of Palestinian-owned “structures”.124 In 2021 alone, the number of structures demolished in East Jerusalem for lack of permits reached 177, approximately the same number for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019.125 119 BADIL, Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians, 105. 120 BADIL, Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians, 114. 121 BADIL, Israeli Land Grab and Forced Population Transfer of Palestinians, 115. 122 Article 250 of the Planning and Building Law, 5725—1965, Available at: https:// www.adalah.org/uploads/oldfiles/Public/files/Discriminatory-Laws-Database/ English/07-National-Planning-Building-Law-1965.pdf 123 Anthony Coon, “Israel and the Occupied Territories, Demolition and Dispossession: The Destruction of Palestinian Homes”, 1999, 41, Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/ar/wp-content/ uploads/2021/06/mde150591999en.pdf 124 OCHA oPt, Special Focus: East Jerusalem Key Humanitarian Concerns, 2017, Accessed 17 February 2022, Available at: https://www.ochaopt.org/content/west-bank-eastjerusalem-key-humanitarian-concerns 125 OCHA oPt, West Bank Demolitions And Displacement: An Overview, 2021, Available at: https://www.ochaopt.org/sites/default/files/Demolition_Monthly_report_NovDec_2021.pdf 29