On December 23, 2025, Jerusalem District Commander Avshalom Peled and Israeli security forces launched a campaign in occupied East Jerusalem, including at least two major operations targeting three Palestinian communities. The Operation "Capital Shield" (Magen HaBira / Shield of the Capital) was launched by Israeli police, Border Police, the military, and municipal authorities and focused on Palestinian areas in and around Jerusalem, including Kafr Aqab, Qalandiya, and Shuafat refugee camp. (See event

Operation “Capital Shield,” is carried out under the pretext of curbing crime and terror. Since January, Israeli forces are intensifying their raids of Palestinian locales, detaining hundreds of Palestinians, and issuing sweeping demolition orders. Palestinians say this is part of a larger plan to cement Israeli sovereignty over the city and its outer perimeter, thereby furthering the state’s goal of Judaizing Jerusalem

According to Unipal, they targeted Kafr Aqab neighbourhood and the boundaries of Qalandiya refugee camp. Israeli security forces reportedly demolished 70 Palestinian structures. This appears to be in preparation for major settlement projects in the area.

Reasons Identified by Experts and Palestinian Analysts:

According to this article, some experts and organizations view Capital Shield as part of a broader strategy associated with Bezalel Smotrich's 2017 "Decisive Plan," which they describe as seeking permanent Israeli sovereignty between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.BADIL Resource Center describes this operation as “Forced displacement, mass demolitions, fragmentation of Palestinian space, and the systematic dismantling of Palestinian urban, social, and political life.”

A. Isolate Palestinian neighborhoods from Jerusalem: Separate Palestinian communities from one another and reduce links between East Jerusalem and surrounding Palestinian areas.

B. Sever the Jerusalem–Ramallah connection, particularly through actions in Kafr ‘Aqab and Qalandiya, which sit between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

C. Consolidate Israeli control over Jerusalem's northern entrances

D. Prevent geographic and demographic continuity between Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank.

E. Facilitate settlement expansion. The demolitions are linked to the planned Atarot settlement, expected to contain more than 9,000 housing units.

F. Advance the "Greater Jerusalem" project by expanding effective Israeli control beyond current municipal boundaries. How? By connecting Israeli settlements while fragmenting Palestinian territory.

G. Create pressure for Palestinian displacement and tehnic cleansing. Through demolitions, restrictions, isolation, and intensified control, the operation makes life increasingly difficult and encourages residents to leave.

Timeline of Operation “Capital Shield”

23 Dec 2025: Phase 1 begins. Israeli authorities launch the first stage of Operation Capital Shield, targeting Kafr ‘Aqab and Qalandiya refugee camp, areas beyond the Separation Wall.

12 Jan 2026 Israeli police raid Shu‘fat refugee camp. Thirty-two Palestinians are arrested; weapons, drugs, vehicles, smuggled cigarettes, and unstamped eggs are confiscated. The operation is publicly branded “Capital Shield.”

12–20 Jan 2026: Phase 2 continues in Shu‘fat refugee camp over several days.

20 Jan 2026: Demolition of the UNRWA headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah.

Jan 2026: Israeli police shut down cultural events in East Jerusalem, including an exhibition at Al-Hakawati Theatre and a screening at Yabous Cultural Centre, claiming they support terrorism.

26 Jan 2026: Phase 3 begins, targeting the Jerusalem Airport area (inside the wall), Kufr ‘Aqab, and Hizma. 26–27 Jan 2026 More than 40 buildings are demolished around the former Jerusalem Airport area; more than 70 properties are demolished across the targeted northern Jerusalem areas.

3 Feb 2026: Israeli forces enter and besiege Hizma; demolition orders are issued for 11 structures.

5 Apr 2026: Additional raids reported in Kufr ‘Aqab and Qalandiya refugee camp. By spring 2026 More than 120 Palestinians arrested and over 70 structures demolished.

Details of the events:

On January 26 and 27, 2026, Israeli forces are continuing their military raid north of occupied Jerusalem for the second day in Kafr Aqab and the area surrounding Qalandiya camp, reports on Tuesday said, while settler attacks continued in other areas of the occupied West Bank.

On Monday, schools were evacuated in Kar Aqab as Israeli forces attacked the area and deployed snipers on rooftops.

The forces blocked Airport Road after storming occupied East Jerusalem, obstructing Palestinian movement, including students and teachers, while also raiding the Al-Ma'dhoun neighbourhood.

Local media reported the ongoing assault had paralysed the area and triggered panic among residents, with road closures causing traffic jams and preventing people from going to work.

Meanwhile, the military also issued demolition notices against several Palestinian businesses near Qalandiya camp, forcing owners to evacuate the area. The Jerusalem Governorate confirmed the demolitions on al-Matar Street near the camp.

On June 11, 2026, the Jerusalem Governorate warned against the Israeli municipality's plan to establish what it calls a new "educational complex" in the Kafr Aqab neighborhood, north of occupied Jerusalem, on land that has long housed a vocational training college operated by UNRWA. The proposed plan (No. 1421205) covers approximately 82 dunums and is presented as a response to the shortage of classrooms and educational facilities in Kafr Aqab. However, the governorate argues that its practical outcome would be the removal of UNRWA’s Vocational Training College and the termination of its activities at the site. The statement emphasized that the occupation, which bears direct responsibility for the chronic education crisis in Palestinian neighborhoods as a result of decades of discrimination and deliberate neglect, is now attempting to exploit this very crisis to justify land confiscation, property seizure, and the undermining of institutions that provide vital services to Palestinians, instead of addressing the root causes of the existing deficit.

On June 22, 2026, Israeli forces demolished on Monday a Palestinian house and a residential building. Israeli forces, accompanied by bulldozers, stormed the al-Turi neighborhood in Kafr Aqab and demolished a two-story house belonging to Nafiz al-Jab’a, which included a residential apartment and storage rooms.They also demolished a three-story residential building belonging to Muhammad Zakaria Abu Saif.

A Palestinian man was injured by Israeli forces on afternoon during the raid. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that its crews treated a man with a rubber-coated bullet wound to the knee, who was transferred from Al-Shifa Medical Center in Kafr Aqab.

According to sionist sources, Israeli police forces (MAGAV) operated in Kafr 'Aqab, "an area in Jerusalem where "Palestinian" Arabs have built structures illegally and so the police are coming to enforce the demolition of the structures as well as protect the demolition workers from being attacked". In a statement, Israeli police claim the raid, called "Captain Shield", was launched to strengthen "sovereignty in the seam zone and enhance the sense of security in the public space".