At approximately 4:15 Am on Sunday 2nd August 2009 dozen of Israeli police, accompanied by members of the Israeli occupation force, forcibly evicted eight Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem. The Israeli occupation authorities arrived at just after 4:00 am and began smashing the windows of the residential unit before breaking down the doors and forcibly removing approximately 70 members of the Al- Ghawi and Hanoun families. In addition, Israeli occupation authorities also removed numerous international solidarity activists living with the families and confiscated their mobile phones.
On 9th November at four o’clock in the morning, Israeli military forces invaded Al Kurd’s Family and forcefully evicted Al Kurd Family. Abu Kamel Al Kurd, 62 years old, who is physically handicapped and suffers from serious, heart problems and diabetes, was handcuffed with his wife Umm Kammel and thrown out of their home.
The Israeli police and army sealed off the neighborhood and prevented anyone from entering the area for the last three days. The family’s home was emptied and their belongings transported to storage house in Deir Yassin. The Israeli occupation forces were implementing the Israeli Supreme court’s order issued on 16.07.2008 to evict Al Kurd family from their home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem where they lived since 1956. The court’s ruling is the result of a long legal battle Al Kurd family fought together with another 27 Palestinian families against groups of Jewish Settlers organization who falsely claim property of the land.
The additional families, Al Sabbagh , the Jaouni and Al Kurd have received evacuation orders. These orders are being appealed by families lawyer Mr. Hussni Abu Hussein, who plans to submit new evidence to the courts proving Palestinian property of the land. This new evidence if admitted could change the course of Sheikh Jarrah case.
The Hanoun, Gahwi and Al Kurd’s houses are a part of a housing project the Jordanian government built with the United Nations Relief and works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to house 28 Palestinian refugee families who fled their homes in 1948. It was agreed then that ownership of the houses will be transferred to the families within three years in return for the food assistance the families received from UNRWA.
Shortly after the six days war in 1967 two groups of Jewish settlers known as, the Oriental Jews Association and the Knesseth Yisrael Association were successful in falsely claiming property of the land. In 1972, they managed to register the land – 28 dunums – in their name with the Israeli Land registrar.
In 1982, the two associations filed suits against the families claiming their property rights. The families appointed lawyer by the name of Tosya Cohen to defend their case. The lawyer without prior knowledge of the families reached an agreement with the settlers associations where he recognized the settlers’ ownership of the land in return for granting the families the status of protected residents according to the law.
The families refused to accept this agreement relieved Tosya Chohen from representing them and refused to pay the rent> three families, Hanoun, Ghawi and Al Kurd have received eviction orders. Maher Hanoun is currently serving a three months sentence for refusing to evacuate his house. A Ghawi and Al Kurd families are awaiting similar sentences. It is also expected that the eviction orders will be carried out by the Israeli police. In the meantime, the families’ lawyer, Mr. Hussni Abu Hussein has appealed the eviction order and has contested the Jewish settlers’ claim to ownership of the land. The families and their lawyer are trying to obtain land deeds or land registry papers from Turkey and Jordan that would discredit the Jewish settlers’ organization claim to property. An Israeli company intends to build 200 Colonial Units on the Ruins of 28 Palestinian Jerusalemite Houses.
In the early days of 2008, the colonists who were claiming their ownership of Al Kurd land sold their “property” to a large investment company called Nahalat Shamo’an. In turn, the company presented plans to build 200 colonial housing units atop the ruins of the present Palestinian community. As such, the “legal” proceedings to evict Al Kurd family were set in motion. Al Kurd’s lawyer petitioned to the Magistrate Court, the District Court and the High Court on July 13th, 2008 to block the proceedings but his appeals were rejected.
Israeli plans for the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood
The area where these houses are located is called Sheikh Jarrah, a nice neighborhood one kilometer to the north of Damascus Gate.
According to Meir Margalit, an analyst on Israeli policies in Jerusalem, the Sheikh Jarrah evictions are part of a much bigger goal being pursued by shadowy settler groups, backed by the Israeli government, to establish wedges of Jewish settlement around the Old City and secure it for any future peace agreement. “The settlers have submitted a plan to the Jerusalem municipality seeking the demolition of Sheikh Jarrah’s Palestinian homes to make way for the building of 200 apartment s fop settlers.” He said. “They have chosen one of the most sensitive sites in East Jerusalem;’ it’s full of Palestinian political and cultural institutions. Its takeover would contribute significantly to the encirclement of the Old City.”
Reports and Articles dealing with the issue:
