How much has the demolition of illegal houses increased under Itamar Ben Gvir?

Definitions of ratings:

• True - The statement is true in the vast majority.

• Inaccurate - Substantial parts of the statement are incorrect.

• Misleading - The statement creates a false impression or takes facts out of context.

• False - The statement is incorrect.

• For your judgment - The factual situation is too complex to give an unequivocal rating.

Summary

Claim: While 5,750 illegal houses were demolished in the Negev in one year under the current government, only four were demolished under the previous government.

What is true:

• The number of demolitions recorded under Itamar Ben Gvir is significantly higher than those recorded during the previous government.

What is false:

• In 2022, during the previous government, 2,862 illegal structures were demolished - not four.

Rating: Inaccurate

Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir was interviewed on Kol Chai radio and boasted:

"The government of change demolished four houses in their entire term - and Itamar Ben Gvir came along, and in one year demolished 5,750 illegal houses in the Negev."

Where is the source for the figure of four houses? Ben Gvir's office referred us to the words of MK Mansour Abbas in the Knesset plenum, who indeed mentioned this figure. But this does not exempt Ben Gvir - who is the minister in charge - from ensuring that his words are based on official data. We conducted an independent check.

Huda Abu Obeid, CEO of the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, referred us to the Ministry of National Security's data regarding demolitions over the last decade. In 2025, 5,742 demolitions were recorded - a number very close to the one Ben Gvir mentioned. However, in 2022, the only full year under the previous government, 2,862 structures were demolished. This is less than half the number in 2025, but very far from only four structures.

Ben Gvir spoke about "houses" and not "structures." According to the Southern Administration's data, in 2022, 380 of the demolished structures were intended for residential use. In 2024, 736 residential houses were demolished, which is higher, but the gaps are significantly smaller than those presented by Ben Gvir.

When we approached Ben Gvir with these data, we were told on his behalf:

"The data you are referring to also include unoccupied structures, while we are talking about data on occupied houses that were demolished."

This explanation is hard to accept, as it leaves in place the fact that Ben Gvir is not comparing apples to apples: he is effectively mixing an expansive data classification in his period with a narrow data classification from the previous government's period.

Bottom line: Ben Gvir's words are inaccurate. There was indeed an increase in demolitions, but the gap is much smaller than claimed, and the claim about only four houses is not supported by the data.