A Palestinian family in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem received an order, from the Israeli authority’s Law Enforcement Department, on Saturday, to evacuate a building it owns, and where five Palestinian families live, by January 23rd.
According to the Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem (CCPRJ), the building would be turned over to Israeli settlers who had claimed ownership of the building.
In 2012, the Sabbagh family had filed a law suit, at the Israeli District Court in Jerusalem, against Israeli settlers’ claim that they own the land in question, according to Ma’an.
The Sabbagh family had provided the court with evidence proving ownership of the land and that Israeli setters’ land registration process, done in 1972, was illegal and improper; therefore, their claim of ownership was null and void. The court nevertheless ruled in favor of the settlers on their claim that the statute of action has expired.
The family, through its lawyers, appealed the ruling to the High Court, on November 15, 2018, which rejected the appeal and upheld the District Court’s decision.
The center added that family’s lawyers re-appealed the High Court’s ruling by asking for a five-judge panel, instead of three, and this was rejected as well, which left the eviction of the five families imminent.