JERUSALEM, June 10, 2018 (WAFA) – The Israeli High Court is scheduled on Sunday to hear a petition that could determine the fate of 70 Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, after the families were given orders by the Israeli judiciary to leave their homes for the benefit of Israeli settlers, according to Wadi Hilweh Information Center.

The petition was submitted by dozens of citizens of Batan al-Hawa, a section of Silwan, who represent hundreds of members of the 70 families slated for eviction, on the grounds that their homes were built on land that was allegedly owned by Jews before the creation of Israel in 1948.

According to Israeli media sources, the eviction demand came from the Benvenisti Trust, established around 120 years ago by Jewish community leaders in Jerusalem for the purpose of building homes for Jews from Yemen. Since 2001, the right-wing Ateret Cohanim organization has controlled the trust.

The petitioners are demanding that the High Court reverse the judgment awarding the land on which their homes are built, since the decision was inconsistent with the principles of good government.

M.N