Jerusalem between 2021 and 2025.. A heavy blood toll and settler encroachment besieging the holy city

The occupation's relentless pursuit to decide the battle for Jerusalem demographically and geographically

Recent official data revealed a heavy toll of Israeli violations in the occupied city of Jerusalem over the past five years, where a report issued by the Jerusalem Governorate painted a bleak picture of the field situation, documenting the martyrdom of 144 martyrs and recording unprecedented numbers in the settlers storming the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, indicating a systematic escalation in Judaization and repression policies.

These figures come at a time when the holy city is witnessing a fierce campaign targeting the Palestinian presence since the beginning of 2021 until the end of 2025. Indeed, the occupation authorities did not suffice with field killings, but resorted to doubling the pace of corpse detention as a tool for collective punishment and psychological deterrence, where 51 corpses remain hidden in morgues and in what is known as "number cemeteries," depriving families of their human right to bid farewell to their sons.

On the human losses front, the document indicated that 6528 Jerusalemites were injured with varying wounds due to assaults by occupation soldiers and settler gangs, who alone carried out about 1467 assaults targeting citizens and their property, including 484 attacks recorded in the past year alone.

Regarding Al-Aqsa Mosque, the data showed a dangerous leap in the number of intruders, where more than 289 thousand settlers desecrated the Haram courtyards during the mentioned period, in an attempt to impose a new reality. This coincided with widespread arrest campaigns that affected 11,555 Jerusalemites from all segments, including children, women, journalists, and mosque guards.

The occupation also resorted to the weapon of "banishment," issuing 2386 decisions, with Al-Aqsa having the lion's share at 1499 decisions, in addition to imposing house arrest on 821 citizens.

The city's stones were not spared from this war, as the governorate monitored 1732 demolition and bulldozing operations for homes and facilities, against distributing 1439 notices to stop construction. In contrast, the settlement wheel accelerated madly; where the report, in cooperation with "Association of Studies/East House," revealed the deposit of plans to build more than 35 thousand settlement units, and the final approval of about 28,700 other units, while more than 8300 units entered the tenders stage in preparation for actual implementation.

These data reflect, without a doubt, the occupation's relentless pursuit to decide the battle for Jerusalem demographically and geographically, by besieging the Arab presence with killing, arrest, and demolition, and in contrast, flooding the city with settlement blocs to create a reality that makes any future political solution impossible that restores rights to their owners.