On Tuesday the 1st of March, the Israeli High court issued its decision, with regard to the eviction of the 4 families, AL Kurd, Al Qasim, Skafi and Jaouni, from Karm Al Jaouni, 7 households, 30 persons including 10 children, from Karm AL Jaouni, (the Eastern part of Sheik Jarrah).
The Decision includes the Following:
· Canceling the eviction orders against the four families.
· The court decided that the 4 families are protected tenants according to the Israeli protection law.
· Each family has to pay 2,400 NIS, yearly, starting from January 2022. The money has to be put in an account in the names of both the lawyer of Nahlat Shamoun and the lawyer of the families until the land ownership is decided by the land registration office.
· When the Israeli land registration starts, land registration in the neighborhood, both parties, the settler association, Nahlat Shamoun and the families have the right to submit their clams to the ownership of the land and homes.
A Reflection on Sheikh Jarrah by Jonathan Kuttab
On my last day in Palestine, I stopped by Sheikh Jarrah again to speak with the families facing eviction.
There was good news. The Israeli Supreme Court, on a rehearing, had just issued that afternoon its decision suspending all evictions indefinitely, declaring that the four families would be considered “protected tenants.” They should pay a symbolic 2400 shekels (around $800) a year into a trust fund until the issue of ultimate ownership of the property is decided, which could take many years.
The court had tried very hard to reach a compromise and was reluctant to issue a decision, in accordance with ordinary Israeli laws, because of the resistance of the families and the international outcry that the situation in Sheikh Jarrah had generated. The decision essentially embodied the compromise that the court had previously suggested to the parties.
While the decision left much to be desired and did nothing to change the apartheid reality of Israeli laws or plans to “Judaize” the Holy City, it did constitute a clear victory for the families and was a clear indication that international pressure and solidarity do in fact work.
Later on the radio, in Hebrew, I heard the outraged settlers protesting this decision. Itimar Ben Gvir, their leader, said: “Jewish rights should be protected and law respected, otherwise we are giving a prize to terrorists.” The commentator asked, “But isn’t it better to defer this problem rather than bringing attention to the whole issue of Arab rights in West Jerusalem and elsewhere.” He replied: “The Law of Absentee Property governs those rights. The law is what it is. This is a Jewish state, and we must protect Jewish rights no matter what the world thinks.”
Meanwhile, residents of Sheikh Jarrah were talking of bringing Knafeh and celebrating. For me,the important lesson to be learned is that our solidarity work does in fact have relevance and does make a difference on the ground! For all its bluster, Israel does care about its image and is finding it increasingly difficult to justify its actions.
Report for the Civil Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem
International Solidarity Call to Action
We call upon the international community to continue its effort to stop the
Israeli force displacement of the Palestinian families in in both sides of
Sheikh Jarrah
We call upon United Nation and Specially UNRWA, and the Jordanian
government, which were part of the deal in 1956, to take responsibility and
to support the families in the next steps, the land registration and
entitlement.
Your support to the families of Sheikh Jarrah is more urgent today than ever;
it is support to justice and to the human right of the Palestinian people and
rejection of the Israeli force displacement policy that has been going on for
54 years
Photo from stopthewall.org
