JERUSALEM, Wednesday, February 5, 2020 (WAFA) – The Israeli Magistrate Court in Jerusalem ordered on Wednesday the eviction of two Palestinian families from their homes in Batn al-Hawa area of Silwan, a neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem, for the benefit of Israeli settlers, according to Wadi Hilweh Information Center.

It said the court gave the families until Mid-August to vacate the building, which consists of a ground storage and two upper floors, under the pretext the house was bought by the Ateret Cohanim settler group.

The Magistrate Court issued the eviction decision after rejecting a petition submitted by the Showaiki and ‘Odeh families to refute claims by the Ateret Cohanim settler group of ownership of the property and to prove their ownership of the house and land.

The settlement organization, which in 2001 claimed the right to administer Jewish property, claimed that it had owned the land before 1948 and began in September 2015 to hand over letters to residents of the neighborhood confirming its ownership of the land and buildings.

T.R.