Two Palestinian families, consisting of 51 people, are to be evicted from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, in Occupied East Jerusalem, the International Solidarity Movementsaid.

Eviction orders, issued by an Israeli court, will begin executing eviction orders, Sunday, for two housing units in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem.  The houses belong to the Al-Ghawe and Hanun families. These orders are valid until March, 22. The Al-Ghawe famiy consist of 34 residents while the Hanun family household includes 17 people.

In 2002, both the Al-Ghawe and Hanun families were evicted from their homes by Israeli police, after Israeli colonizers used falsified documents to claim ownership of these houses.

Family members lived in tents for four months before returning to their homes.  The families were able to present their documents proving their legal ownership before the courts on February 19, but the eviction orders still remain in effect.

'The Israelis don't want me on this land.  The ownership documents from the colonizers are false, but there is no justice in the Israeli courts for Palestinians.  I was born here in my house, where I have lived for all of the 46 years of my life.  Where do they want me to go?  I haven't any other place to live,” said Nasser Ghawe, Sheikh Jarrah resident.

'This is an ethnic cleansing that will eventually spread to all of Jerusalem.  We are asking all people everywhere to unify against what is going on here and stand firm in the face of evictions.  These families legally own their homes and should be allowed to stay,' Rima Essa of the Coalition for Jerusalem.

International Human Rights Workers will be staying with the families in solidarity with the protest against these evictions.