German minister tours E Jerusalem area threatened by Israeli policy

German Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan on Tuesday visited Arab-majority areas in East Jerusalem under threat from Israeli settlement and housing policies, as she made her inaugural trip to Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories.

The minister toured East Jerusalem's Silwan neighbourhood, whose Arab residents told her they rarely receive permits to renovate or expand their homes.

Since October 2023, 33 houses have been demolished by the city administration, according to local residents.

Resident Fakhri Abu Diab showed her his family house which was destroyed in 2024. He had lived there with his family for decades.

"The fact that Israel is not held accountable has led to the demolition of my house and the homes of other families," he said.

He said his concerns extend beyond his family and neighbourhood to the fate of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

During her three-day trip, Alabali Radovan plans to meet representatives of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and speak with relatives of Israeli hostages who were abducted to the Gaza Strip during the Islamist Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023.

Construction and destruction

Although Alabali Radovan had never visited Israel or the Palestinian territories before, her ministry has supported numerous development projects in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank over the past decades.

Some of the facilities that Germany once financed in Gaza now lie in ruins. In the West Bank, the unstable situation and restricted mobility make it difficult to implement projects successfully.