It was the middle of the night, but the residents of the occupied East Jerusalem town of Sur Bahir were not asleep. They were waiting for, dreading, the arrival of Israeli forces to demolish their homes. At around 2:15am on Monday more than 1,000 Israeli soldiers and government workers descended upon the area, with force, and began the process of demolishing 11 buildings in the neighborhood. The demolitions could set a dangerous precedent.

Dozens of Palestinian homes in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood Sur Bahir are under threat of demolition by Israel. While home demolitions are a common occurrence in East Jerusalem, these homes in Sur Bahir lie in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority. International and local officials fear that if Israeli carries out the demolitions, it could pave the way for the destruction of hundreds of homes in PA-controlled areas of the West Bank.

Transparency in journalism: The Jewish Telegraph Agency’s Ron Kampeas owns a home in the illegal Israeli settlement East Talpiot, built on Palestinian land stolen from Sur Bahir village.