JERUSALEM, March 11, 2018 (WAFA) – The Israeli judiciary has ordered the eviction of the Saeed Odeh family from the building where they live in Batn al-Hawa neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, according to Wadi Hilweh Information Center.

The center said members of the right-wing Jewish group Ateret Cohanim handed the judicial order on Sunday to the family of deceased Saeed Odeh asking them to leave the building, for allegedly being constructed on a plot which has been the property of Jewish individuals since 1889.

Yaqoub Rajabi, who represents the citizens of Batn al-Hawa, dismissed the Israeli narrative saying the land plot belongs to Odeh family who purchased it during the 1970s. He said the family were also able to obtain construction permits from the Israeli authorities about 20 years ago.

The building includes eight apartments with a total population of 50 persons, most of them children.

Since September 2015, a total of 70 Palestinian families have received eviction notices from Ateret Cohanim, said Rajabi. He said the families had responded to the lawsuits filed by Ateret Cohanim against them.

Rajabi expressed fear that the new eviction order could be the start of new eviction notices in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood.

M.N