JERUSALEM, Tuesday, March 05, 2019 (WAFA) – The Israeli authorities issued warrants against the Maraga family, demanding that they evict their property in Baten Al-Hawa neighborhood in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center said in a statement on Tuesday morning that the Ateret Cohanim Jewish settler group handed the Maraga family nine judicial warants, ordering them to evict their five-apartment residential building and hand the plot of land on which they live to the settlers’ group.
The judicial notices were handed to Hmeidan, Izziya, Salah, Fadwa, Munira, Na‘im, Rabi‘a, In‘am and Itaf Maraga. A total of 15 Palestinians would be displaced as a result of the imminent eviction.
The Maragha family noted that they have been living on these premises for more than 100 years, and that they have all the supporting documents confirming their ownership of the land and the real estate.
A local committee representing the Palestinian residents of Batn al-Hawa said that Ateret Cohanim seeks to take over the Maraga’s property as part of a larger plan to seize 5,200-square-meter of land in the heart of Silwan, where several dozen right-wing Jewish settlers live among more than 40,000 Palestinians.
Ateret Cohanim, an organization aiming to create a Jewish majority in East Jerusalem at the expense of Palestinian people, claims former members of the Jewish community in Yemen have owned the land in question since 1881. It also claims the Israeli High Court confirmed Jewish ownership of this land.
The committee representing Batn al-Hawa residents added that approximately 80 families comprising of 436 Palestinians have been living in approximately 35 residential buildings constructed on the land in question for decades after they officially purchased their premises from previous owners.
It added that dozens of Palestinian families have received eviction notices from Ateret Cohanim, and have filed lawsuits against their evictions.
The Committee confirmed that it would respond and object to judicial warrants aimed at evicting the Maraga family.
K.T./ K.F.
