The Nawajas saved for 15 years to build their house. Now it is razed, along with over 2,000 more since 7 October, under a huge expansion of illegal Israeli settlements

When Israeli security forces suddenly arrived with bulldozers and a demolition team to tear down Mahmoud Mahmud Jibril Nawaja’s house, they came with little explanation.

“This land does not belong to you,” the officer in charge told him as he handed Nawaja a demolition order. They accused him of building on land without a permit, although his family has owned the plot for generations. Nawaja had applied for one, providing the land deeds and other ownership documents, but had heard nothing from the authorities for years, until they arrived that day in June.