Sharp rise in pace of home demolitions in the West Bank

The Israeli army has intensified its operations in the West Bank by increasing the pace of home demolitions following the Oct. 7 attacks.

In 2025, the Israeli army recorded a decade-high, demolishing 23 homes in the area. Despite controversy and criticism surrounding the measure, home demolition is considered a core element of Israel’s deterrence strategy, according to the Hebrew-language site Walla.

Data presented to Defense Minister Israel Katz show that from October 2023 through the end of that year, 12 homes of attackers were destroyed, and in 2024, 18 buildings were demolished.

By early September 2025, 23 homes had been destroyed — a record for the past decade in the West Bank.

It is noted that during the West Bank Division’s one-year-and-eight-month period of command in the Israeli army, a total of 44 buildings were demolished.

Demolitions are carried out in three ways: engineering units using controlled explosives, destruction with heavy engineering equipment, or by sealing rooms and buildings.