Description

Images:
Cartoon. Credit: Mondoweiss Published by IMEMC News

A policewoman speaks to settlers in Sheikh Jarrah, today.Credit: AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP Published by Haaretz
______

by IMEMC News
May 2, 2021

Updated: The Israeli High Court has postponed looking into appeals filed by four Palestinian families against rulings evicting them from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in occupied Jerusalem, for the benefit of colonialist settlers.

The Court was scheduled to hold a hearing today, Sunday, but decided to delay the deliberations until this coming Thursday.

The appeals were filed by attorneys representing the indigenous Palestinian families of Eskafi, al-Kurd, al-Ja’ouni, and al-Qassem; the court is set to look into the appeals, Sunday.

The families filed all needed documents and deeds proving ownership of their lands and homes.

It is worth mentioning that the appeals were filed after an Israeli court ordered the eviction of the Palestinian families after Israeli colonialist settlers claimed ownership.

The initial Israeli court ruling, ordering the four Palestinian families out of their homes, was issued in September of the year 2020, and was followed by another ruling also evicting the families of Hammad, Dajani, and Daoudi from their homes in the same neighborhood.

The four families filed an appeal, which was denied in February of the year 2021, and were ordered to leave their homes by May 2nd, 2021, while the three other families were ordered to leave their homes by August 1st, 2021.

The families are determined to continue to file appeals and defend their homes.

Late on Saturday at night, Israeli soldiers assaulted dozens of Palestinians, nonviolently protesting the eviction and displacement orders in Sheikh Jarrah, and forced them away.

Saleh Diab, a Palestinian nonviolent activist from Sheikh Jarrah, said the families, threatened with eviction today, May 2nd, consist of at least 50 members, including children and elders.

He added that the three families, threatened with eviction on August 1st are nearly 70 members, including children and elders.

At least 28 families, (about 550 indigenous Palestinians) live in Sheikh Jarrah and are facing eviction and displacement from their homes they inhabited more than 48 years ago.

Despite allegations by the illegal Israeli colonialist settlers of ownership of the Palestinian homes, the government of Jordan provided Israel with official deeds proving their ownership of the properties.

However, Israel’s government and colonialist groups, are ongoing with their attempts to control more Palestinian lands, for the benefit of its illegal colonialist activities, especially to link the neighborhood with other nearby colonies.

Israel is planning to build and establish more than 540 colonialist units in the area, and is currently building 54 units, in addition to the ongoing efforts to link them with the Police Command in Sheikh Jarrah and the French Hill settlement in addition to the Hebrew University, as part of the so-called “Jerusalem Belt” colonialist plan linking the colonies with different Palestinian areas in al-‘Isawiya, Rad al-‘Amoud, Wadi ar-Rababa and many other areas, and aim at connecting East Jerusalem with West Jerusalem with this belt of illegal colonies after displacing the indigenous Palestinians.

The Israeli colonialist plan, which is intended to be implemented in phases through many years, was put forth by the government, the Jerusalem City council, the Israel Antiquities Authority and various colonialist organizations in Israel and other counties, and has a budget of 537 Billion Israeli Shekels.

It is worth mentioning that Ireland called on Israel to abide by its international and legal obligations, and to respect all related agreements on the protection of Palestinian civilians, especially according to the Fourth Geneva Convention.

It called for ending the violations against the Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem, especially in Sheikh Jarrah, al-Bustan, and Batn al-Hawa, in addition to the violations against the worshipers in and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Ireland said its position regarding Jerusalem is based on International Law, and added that Israel’s colonies violate this law, in addition to various United Nations and Security Council resolutions, and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

It added that colonies are an obstacle to the efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace in the region, and called on Israel to stop its colonialist activities and violations.
____

Clashes Resume in Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah as Palestinians Await Eviction Court Ruling

East Jerusalem residents, settlers fail to reach compromise on controversial land sales. Meanwhile, Kahanist lawmaker sets up makeshift office near home taken over by Jewish settlers

by Nir Hasson for Haaretz
May 6, 2021

Palestinians and Jews clashed in East Jerusalem's flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood on Thursday after the far-right, Kahanist lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir relocated his office there in what he called a protest against police's failure to protect Jewish residents.

Dozens of Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah have faced potential eviction for years, amid intensified efforts from right-wing settler groups that assert the land was owned by Jews before 1948, when Israel was founded. The threat of eviction has led to frequent protests.

Over the past week, dozens of Palestinians have gathered nightly for the evening meal breaking the Ramadan fast across from one of the buildings that settlers have moved into, where Ben-Gvir set up his makeshift, outdoor office.

Minutes after the meal began, Palestinians and Ben-Gvir supporters began cursing one another. When one of the Palestinians got close to the other group, he was pepper sprayed. Palestinians then began throwing chairs and rocks at the Jews, who threw stones in return before fleeing into the building. Two young Palestinians dismantled the improvised office and tore down the banner hanging over it.

A police spokeswoman said in a statement that police were active in Sheikh Jarrah following "a protest that quickly escalated into violence, with stones being thrown at police and passing vehicles, shooting fireworks, and, in several cases police and civilians were attacked."

Incidents referenced by the spokeswoman included a vehicle pelted with stones and set on fire, an attack on passersby near a light rail station, and a man who was attacked and slightly injured.

The spokeswoman said that during the violence in Sheikh Jarrah, "15 suspects were arrested for disorderly conduct, rioting, throwing stones and objects and assaulting police officers and civilians. The Israel Police will not succumb to provocations, and will continue to allow any person, wherever he is, the freedom to protest within the limits of the law. At the same time, we will respond severely to violations of the law."

Earlier Thursday, lawyers representing Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah told the Supreme Court that locals were unable to reach a compromise agreement with settlers in talks to avert intervention by the court. Attorneys Sami Ersheid and Salah Abu Hussein told the court that no deal had been reached in negotiations that were mandated as part of a Palestinian appeal of a lower court ordering them to evacuate their homes.

Supreme Court Justice Daphne Barak-Erez decided that a panel of judges would rule on the appeal within four days and that no one would be evacuated from their homes in the meantime. If the appeal is turned down, scores will be forced to give up their homes by the end of Ramadan in another week. Another 200 people could face evictions in August.

Rightist groups claiming that the land on which the Palestinians built their houses was owned by Jews before the 1948 War of Independence instigated the eviction processs. The agreement that the two sides sought to reach would have included mutual recognition – the Palestinians would have recognized Jewish rights to the land and the Jews would have recognized the Palestinians’ right of residency.

Over the last few months, rightist organizations have enjoyed a string of legal victories in their nearly 15-year legal battle to evict the Palestinians. Last October, Jerusalem Magistrates Court Judge Dorit Feinstein ruled in favor of the Nahalat Shimon Co., ordering 25 people from four families to be evicted. In November, Jerusalem Magistrates Court Judge Liat Benmelech rejected a petition by 32 members of the Sabbagh family to delay implementing a court order evicting them from their homes.

The land in Sheikh Jarrah, adjacent to the tomb of Shimon Hatzaddik, was bought by Jews in the late 19th century. Right-wing activists established the Nahalat Shimon company, which bought the rights to the land from the Sephardi Community Committee and Ashkenazi Community Committee. The company has spent years trying to evict the local Palestinian residents.

The Palestinian families were settled there by the Jordanian government in the 1950s. Most of them were refugees from the 1948 war who had owned property inside Israel. However, the state confiscated their assets under Israel’s Absentee Property Law. Thus, they are not entitled to get their properties back in the way that Jews, even if they aren't related to the original owners, are legally able to obtain formerly Jewish-owned properties in East Jerusalem.

Features