Why residents of Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah face eviction


February 12, 2019
JFJFP
eleven families about to be thrown out of their homes to make room for settlers

Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah marched with Israeli activists to protest against an eviction

 

Ahmad Melhem writes in Al Monitor, “About 36 Palestinians, including six children from the Sabbagh family in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, live in constant fear of the Israeli Execution Office’s decision regarding their eviction in favor of Israeli settlers.”

“The Execution Office, which is the competent authority to implement court decisions, notified Jan. 3 five families of the Sabbagh family that they have until Jan. 23 to vacate their homes. The family’s lawyer, Husni Abu Hussein, however, managed Jan. 14 to obtain a freezing order until Feb. 16, since the Central Court and Supreme Court have yet to rule on the land ownership in the neighborhood.”

aerial photo of Sheikh Jarrah

“The case goes back to 2012 when the family’s lawyers resorted to the Israeli Central Court to file a lawsuit against Nahalat Shimon, an organization that represents settlers, claiming that the neighborhood’s lands, including the houses of the Sabbagh families, belong to settlers. The court rejected to start a lawsuit on the land ownership, which prompted lawyers to appeal before the Israeli Supreme Court, according to Abu Hussein. He told Al-Monitor, “The Supreme Court rejected the appeal against the Central Court’s decision on Nov. 15, 2018, which allowed the Execution Office to issue the eviction order, since the Supreme Court is the highest judicial court in Israel.””…

Adeeb Joudeh’s old house in Sheikh Jarrah

“Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood was established in 1956 as per an agreement signed by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Jordanian government, which governed the West Bank prior to its occupation in 1967. Homes were built to accommodate 28 families that were forcibly expelled from their lands during 1948. Over the years, the number of families increased, but in 1972,” (more…) 

 

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