JERUSALEM, Tuesday, July 16, 2024 (WAFA) – Israeli colonists today took over a Palestinian house in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood in of the Silwan town, south of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, according to eyewitnesses.
They said that armed colonists, protected by the occupation forces, sneaked their way into the house of Jawad Abu Nab in the neighborhood, after pulling out the guard bars of the windows as well as the doors.
The colonists prevented Abu Nab’s family from returning to the house.
A week ago, the Israeli occupation court issued a ruling ordering the forced expulsion of the Abu Nab, al-Rajabi and Gheith families from their houses in the neighborhood in favor of the Ateret Cohanim colonist organization, allowing members of the organization to move into the properties.
The Palestinian families have 90 days to file appeals with the Israeli occupation High Court against the ruling, however, such appeals are routinely denied by the Israeli judicial system that represents the country that illegally occupies East Jerusalem and promotes colonialist activities there.
The families live in nine residential units, housing more than 80 Palestinians, including many children, women, elders, and several residents with special needs.
The Ateret Cohanim colonist organization claims that 5 dunams and 200 square meters of land in the Batn Al-Hawa neighborhood have belonged to Jews from Yemen since 1881, and since 2015 the organization has begun delivering orders and judicial notices to families in the neighborhood to “evict” them from their houses.
Palestinians have maintained their the Israeli occupation authorities decision to “evict” the families from their houses in favor of the settler groups is politically-motivated and comes as part of Israel’s efforts to ethnically cleanse Jerusalemite Palestinians.
Since the occupation of Jerusalem by Israel in June 1967, Israeli settlers colonial organizations, namely Elad and Ateret Cohanim, have claimed ownership of Palestinian property in Jerusalem. Backed by the Israeli state, judiciary and security services, these organizations have been working on wresting control of Palestinian property and convert it into colonial outposts as part of the efforts to ensure a Jewish majority in the city, as well as on managing archaeological sites in Silwan and overseeing their excavation. This scheme involves building new colonial tourist sites, such as the “City of David”, to bolster their propaganda.
K.F.
