Sheikh Jarrah, E. Jerusalem
After receiving eviction notices last May, three Palestinian families constituting 53 people, including 20 children, were forcibly removed from their homes under High Court order at dawn yesterday, August 2.
The Hanouns, the Rawis and the al-Ghawis, all families who fled their homes in West Jerusalem and became refugees during the 1948 War, have been living in their houses since 1956, when Jordan reached an agreement with UNRWA to resettle them. They are now living on the streets, homeless.
Just a week ago they were living inside their home and now there are Jewish settlers inside, exhibiting not the least bit of remorse for the homeless family just outside. The Hanoun family’s furniture was seized by Israeli forces and they are now responsible for paying the storage and mover fees. Meanwhile, the Jewish settlers are living with round-the-clock security, not allowing anyone near. At one house, the police actually had the nerve to tell us not to film too close, as we should respect the privacy of the new residents.
This is just one of several plans by various real estate groups, such as Nahalat Shimon, and international businessmen such as Irving Moskowitz to populate the areas surrounding the Old City with Jewish strongholds that sever Palestinian territorial contiguity in East Jerusalem. This prejudices any final resolution in which East Jerusalem would be the Palestinian capital. It is also in clear breach of Israel’s commitment under the Road Map. But these operations are backed by the Israel Lands Administration, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israeli government, who are all working together to undermine any possibility for a two-state solution and are blatantly infringing on the basic human rights of the residents of what they deem to be the “united Jerusalem.”
Related posts:
- Weekly Sheikh Jarrah protest greeted with hostility in West Jerusalem, cheers in East Jerusalem
- While the US and Israel spar over settlements, Israel continues ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem
- Under Obama’s nose (Palestinian evictions just can’t make the front page of the Times)
- Top Netanyahu Minister Uzi Landau Mingles with Fanatical Settlers at Moskowitz Prize for Zionism Ceremony
- Under Obama’s nose, Israel fosters ethnic cleansing of East Jerusalem
{ 3 trackbacks }
{ 38 comments }
Wow. Breathtaking. I’m at a loss for words…
The banality of evil.
Meanwhile, the Jewish settlers are living with round-the-clock security, not allowing anyone near. At one house, the police actually had the nerve to tell us not to film too close, as we should respect the privacy of the new residents.
It’s remarkable that nobody in the MSM is mentioning that these were Christians (at least one the families is). Not that Christian suffering trumps Muslim suffering but it just shows how meaningless concern for Christians in the Middle East is in this country.
What do the end timer Evangelical Christian Zionists have to say about Christian Arabs getting
screwed by the Israelis? Do they view their fellow Christians Arabs as mere collateral damage? How do they square that with Christ’s words in their bible? Anybody know?
Do they even discuss it, bring it up in their sermon rants?
Those sorts of Christians say nothing at all, and I’m quite sure the vast majority have no clue that Palestinian Christians even exist. Not sure about their leaders, though.
Mainstream protestantism has taken positions against the occupation, and does charity within the Palestinian community, yet I don’t know of any particular outreach or public stands in support of specifically Christian Palestinians.
I think there are probably a couple of reasons for that: the universal concept of mainstream christianity–charity for all, not aimed at specific groups.
But most importantly, I think this factor is also at play: mainstream christianity does not want to go near any idea that the occupation can be framed in some instances as Christian versus Jew. That would be anathema to them.
Since I’m guessing that the vast majority of Christian Palestinians are Eastern Orthodox of some stripe, it would be interesting to know what, if any, those denominations are doing here in the US to support their Orthodox brethern.
I do know the Roman Catholic church has spoken out–but it doesn’t seem to be much of an issue on the parish level.
It seems Phil is not the only one really perturbed about the huge and long term USA MSM propaganda regarding the I-P issue–here’s what appears to be an actual gentile putting the case
very well–I emailed Phil he should partner with him too: http://www.counterpunch.org/dimaggio08032009.html
“Obama is a pushover.”
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/07/22/when-will-americans-come-to-the-aid-of-palestine/
Clinton speaks up – the evictions are “deeply regrettable.”
Now read the Talkbacks to this article and see how the fanatical Zionists laugh with glee at this further evidence of US weakness.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1104949.html
Can any of our Hebrew speakers confirm the accuracy of the translation of the colonist speaking at 1:16? The subtitle says “(We will build) colonies”. Please clarify the meaning of the Hebrew word that is translated as colonist. It sounds like the man is unabashedly speaking his mind. I am curious about the degree of his self-honesty about what he is doing. Are there other Hebrew words with similar but still distinct meanings, e.g. settler, colonist, and returnee? Thanks in advance.
What he actually said was “kolelim” (not “colonies”) – institutions of religious study for married men.
From a purely tactical standpoint, it’s brilliant, in terms of how to carry out ethnic cleansing without attracting international attention. There are no images of columns of Palestinians being driven out at gunpoint on cart-and-donkey. It is the systematic, orderly, transfer of one family for another on a beautiful sunny afternoon, and this avoids triggering ‘the urgency of now’ response.
So, again thinking in terms of tactics and solutions, moving away from simply decrying the situation to thinking strategically, collectively, about how to respond, how to empower, how to trigger that urgency:
If the Palestinians in East Jerusalem could organize themselves and for an afternoon hold a ‘mock expulsion’ out of the city, recreating a good ol’ fashion twentieth century cleansing on a grand scale, with thousands of people marching two-by-two, mothers with wailing children, the infirm on-top of donkeys laden with belongings, perhaps such a demonstration would gather some attention somewhere before the inhabitants return home. Make it dramatic, and repeat daily. In essence, would this not amplify what the Israelis are doing on a small, imperceptible level and take the essence of what Israel is doing and put an image to the idea, make it concrete? The power of the march. The power of the powerless.
Get someone to take a photograph of the long column of evacuees and put it on a postcard that reads “Visit Israel: Stretch Your Legs” or “Israel: A Country Apart” some such thing and target the country’s tourist economy by using shame tactics.
Is it possible to go door-to-door in East Jerusalem and sign up people for this mock march?
Sounds like a wonderful idea, that march.
But frankly, I would be concerned that the Israelis would not let them return home.
…,
The Al Jazeera video identifies them by name.
seham – thanks… do you know what happened to the post i made?? i don’t see it here anymore…
These families are now twice refugees. OK, the Israeli supreme court is “enforcing” this likely-bogus property claim on occupied lands from the Ottoman era!!
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/112735
but what about property claims of Palestinian refugees from post 1948, where the Israeli supreme court actually has legal jurisdiction?
We don’t have to dig too deep to find the inherent bias in Zionist courts.
I think if anyone is going to understand, at least in a cursory fashion what is taking place in US Media they should consider this documentary –
PEACE, PROPAGANDA, AND THE PROMISED LAND
They were lawfully evicted from land that wasn’t theirs.
Th Jordanian government gave them land that belonged to Jews, when the Jews came back for it, the Palestinians lost it. One government took from the Jews to give to the Palestinians, another government is taking from those Palestinians to give to the Jews.
The irony here is that this is what the Palestinians want to do to the Israelis living on land that used to belong to Arabs. Use the right of return and evict them. Of course, they want to do that without the bother of winning a war first.
I see Thom completely disagrees with the Nuremberg Trials and their progeny in international law.Wonderful. So might makes right. That’s what all those Americans died for in WW2.
No part of your statement is true Thom, there is no proof of thew properties once belonging to Jews. Second, the people who moved in were utter strangers to the area, they have no roots going back to Jewish families living in Jerusalem, period. Unless, of course, you are invoking the 2000 year plus “right of return,” which makes it doubly ridiculous, invalid, and odious.
Finally, statements are always made by supporters of these atrocities regarding what “they would do” (the Palestinians), in contrast to the illegal activity that is currently taking place by Israel. It is the stuff that “preemptive” strikes are made of, and has its roots condemned in Nuremberg.
The reason I made the statement I did about land “ownership” is because I am going to afford the Committee for the Sephardic Group the same legitimacy that they give to the Palestinian documents of ownership. One after another the courts have judged these “ownership” papers to be spurious in the case of Palestinians, but is now trying to set a precedent that they are “valid” when it comes to Jewish ownership. How so? In fact, I can unearth the rulings which show this prejudicial record, it is glaring. However, my statement about the “reclaiming” stands as it was written.
While I am at it, this is not the only front of judicial activism which is skewed – Israel is selling the Palestinian properties (leasing to be precise, same thing because the leases an go on in perpetuity), anyone who has studied the land game in Israel knows this. These properties were supposed to be held in lieu of a settlement in regard to the conflict (I use “conflict” for the sake of familiarity, although it is a woefully lacking description) , but are being sold off to guess who? You guessed right, in direct contradiction to the legal instruments that Israel signed in “good faith” –
DEALING IN STOLEN PROPERTY
So the assaults are coming from all sides, showing a maximum of bad faith in any dealing on the part of Israel. It smashes ANY solution which speaks of a viable Palestinian state. What this tells us, as I have said before, much tougher methods are going to have to be used.
But what about the 1000s of Palestinian properties in West Jerusalem that have Ottoman land deeds showing that they belonged to the native Palestinians, but were given to Jews after Israel drove out the legal owner?. You needn’t answer, we know; those apartments were deeded to the Jews by your sky daddy.
However, the Israeli are setting up some interesting legal precedents — ie, the validity of Ottoman land titles. I saw recently that the current Turkish government has opened its records to Palestinian claimants on property ownership during the Ottoman period.
I assume that Thom is eager to see the Jewish residents of the Arab villages of Ikram and Biram evicted at gunpoint so that the rightful owners can return to take possession. Since 1951 the Israeli Supreme Court has upheld the Arab villagers’ ownership of the land, from which they were illegally removed by the IDF in 1948, after which Jews were brought in to settle there.
There is no question of the right of return, as the villagers were never refugees and never engaged in war against Israel. They are Israeli citizens, but the Israeli government continues to refuse to acknowledge their rights.
There are thousands of these “internal refugees” in Israel, Arab Israeli citizens dispossessed of the lands they rightfully owned in 1948. If Thom wants to see justice done, and the rule of law, he will certainly insist that the Jews who illegally occupy their homes be “lawfully evicted” so that the rightful owners can take possession.
It’s interesting that Thom uses the idea of Jewish Waqf
The entire world is watching the Israelis toss the bird at international law and especially at the Obama administration. The ethnic cleansing has moved at warp speed since Obama’s team keeps “negotiating” the terms of “natural growth” in the settlements. Way to go, O. You’ve got Hillary saying “this isn’t helpful” while she and Dennis Ross cheer your failure-in-the-making (certainly, Hillary will appoint Dennis to be her Foreign Prime Minister once she defeats Obama in 2012.
Hey, did anyone see the SNL sketch in which Rahm Emanuel was pushing Obama to “get angry” and take real action against his opponents? http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/the-rock-obama/1056126/
Finally, Barack got so pissed that he did a Hulk-like transition and turned into Barack “The Rock” Obama and tore his Republican adversaries to shreds. “When you make Barack Obama mad, he turns into “The Rock” Obama.”
We need Barack to toss Netanyahu out of the window of the White House on SNL. That would be a gamechanger.
Here an interesting scenario that shows a longer convoluted trail by settlers, and makes reference to this current situation –
“”Until now, the [Israeli] court doesn’t believe that we are the owners of this home,” Hanoun told IPS. “We have documents that this home was given to us by the Jordanian government before the 1967 occupation … We are refugees. I don’t want to live in a tent again.” After Palestinians were expelled and dispossessed from their villages and towns in 1948, the United Nations’ Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) cooperated with the Jordanian government in 1956 to build housing units for refugees in Sheikh Jarrah, within an agreement that would trade UNRWA refugee benefits for permanent housing for these relocated Palestinian families.
In 1972, however, Israeli settler groups began what would be a lengthy process of filing legal suits over land titles, claiming ownership of the property and pursuing subsequent eviction of the Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah. Forged documents of land ownership were submitted by the settler group, resulting in a court order that forced the Palestinian families to pay rent.
In 2006, when the documents were proved fraudulent, the Israeli court ruled the settlers’ claim void but did not re-instate the Palestinian families’ ownership to their land. However, it was too late, and in 2008, the settler group “sold” the land in Sheikh Jarrah to an Israeli investment company which currently plans to demolish Sheikh Jarrah and build 200 housing units for the exclusive use of Jewish settlers.
After these plans were made, settlers began invading and occupying Palestinian homes in Sheikh Jarrah. One family in particular has received some attention from reporters and international human rights groups. After the Israeli court ruled in favor of settlers to evict them, the Al-Kurd family were thrown out of their home in November 2008 and have since lived in a canvas tent below their house in a former trash dump as the settlers move freely in and around the Al-Kurd property. The court based the eviction on the Al-Kurd family’s refusal to pay rent to the settlers.
Nasser al-Ghawei told IPS from inside the Al-Kurd tent in Sheikh Jarrah that earlier this year Palestinian families felt relief when the Turkish government, dismayed at Israel’s brutal actions in Gaza, decided to release documents from the Ottoman-era archives that prove Palestinian-Arab ownership of the land. “We took these papers back to the court to prove that this is Arab land,” Ghawei says. “And the decision was negative.” An Israeli lawyer representing the settler group offered Ghawei and his 16 other family members $17 million to leave their home. “Seventeen million dollars cannot pay for my memories. I was born in this house … This is my identity,” Ghawei says.”
So this is a long twisted process, which rejected a settlers forged document 2006, but failed to reinstate (why don’t we just say – refused to reinstate) the family. When the original document of ownership showed up it was rejected by the courts, but magically the document of the settlers rejected in 2006 suddenly became valid.
ISRAELI SETTLERS EXPELLING ARABS FROM EAST JERUSALEM HOMES
You will note in the excerpt from the article, the plan of the settlers is not to merely have single or a few families dwelling in the original homes. The settlers in there now are just seeds –
“…the settler group “sold” the land in Sheikh Jarrah to an Israeli investment company which currently plans to demolish Sheikh Jarrah and build 200 housing units for the exclusive use of Jewish settlers.”
So they want to totally change the facts on the ground so that it can no longer be considered single homes with one or more extended families inside. This way they can “improve” the demographic, pack more bodies for a higher Jewish count in the area.
A question, v… (victory?)?
I’d like to get a more close up picture of this.
But what I don’t understand in the above.
a) how can someone sell land in 2008 on the basis of a deal that has been declared fraudulent in court two years earlier?
b) how can a court ignore the 2006 decision and evict people since they have not paid rent based on a deed that has been declared fraudulent.
Essentially:
Does the trick to make them pay rent based on a fake deed somehow lead to real possession after a time according to Israeli law. Who exactly is involved in the whole story? What institutions, settler groups.
I’d like to understand the whole maneuver, including it’s exploitation of Israeli laws and institutional structures.
LeaNder–
As an American lawyer, the Israeli legal system completely and totally baffles me. Trying to figure out the legalities of the situation you describe in order to see how, from a rational legal perspective, the thought process behind the judicial rulings, the deeds, the evidence, etc., results in this outcome, leads me to conclude that there is no legal system as such–at least in the sense of American law.
The system appears nothing more than an ad-hoc, predetermined game. There is no law.
Sorry LeaNder, did not see this till just a moment ago. The “v” represents the first letter in my first name.
Apparently the decision while they (the court) declared the document a fraud you will note they still “did not reinstate the Palestinian families ownership of the land.” What they did was fall back on their annexation of Jerusalem which they “conquered,” so that it did not matter whether the document was a fraud or not, ownership terminated on their designated status. So, they than put the property to care of the Committee for the Sephardic Group, which is not unlike the other private “caretakers” of the land (by which whether it is this committee or another, they endlessly point fingers back and forth as to the responsibility for the decisions regarding the property).
In turn, you will note that the court purposefully rejected the Palestinian family getting an original deed –
“Nasser al-Ghawei told IPS from inside the Al-Kurd tent in Sheikh Jarrah that earlier this year Palestinian families felt relief when the Turkish government, dismayed at Israel’s brutal actions in Gaza, decided to release documents from the Ottoman-era archives that prove Palestinian-Arab ownership of the land. “We took these papers back to the court to prove that this is Arab land,” Ghawei says. “And the decision was negative.””
So they jettisoned both the fraudulent deed from the settlers and the valid deed from the Palestinians. When they rejected the Palestinian ownership they demanded the rent payment based on their contrived facts on the ground – “this is our land, we have conquered it, we are the caretakers of it, and we will do as we please with it.” The Palestinians were therefore cited for not paying a rent to the said committee under the rules of Israeli court. Which once again, makes the entire scenario fraudulent!
I believe the Committee for the Sephardic Group, is just the parent cover for the afor mentioned “Israeli investment company which currently plans to demolish Sheikh Jarrah and build 200 housing units for the exclusive use of Jewish settlers.” cited from my link. In other words, it is really an Israeli investment company which specifically is set for the development of properties to further Eretz Israel.
The “exploitation of Israeli law” – I think you have that backwards, “Israeli law IS an exploitation”…lol There is no law that is not skewed by the occupation, as I have said before all Israeli society is therefore vitiated by injustice and consequent cruelty in regard to the Palestinians – it is a weapon. Even the very terms of approach are skewed – take for instance my link “Dealing In Stolen Properties.” If you follow the conversation you will note the Israeli official steers away from the “law” (although this is not always the case, it is only the case here because it involves legal agreements with the international community), and tries to make the theft of in lieu land for the Palestinians a political issue! He goes completely off his rocker – it is very embarrassing (at least for me), trying to make the properties a political football. If you listen to his plea, he even brings in the expulsion of Jewish communities in other “Arab” lands asking “how will they be compensated?” The question is, what the hell do the Palestinians have to do with other Arab countries?! It is the same arguments that south African apartheid made – “they are all black, they have a whole continent we just have a small portion, let them move somewhere else if they don’t like it.” As if Tunisia has something to do with the Palestinians, or the Tutsi has something to do with the Bambara. Completely convoluted, and shameful.
The Israel laws and institutions request? That is a tall order, here is at least a source on the law, no exhaustive –
LLRX
I’ll spare you my views on the “rule of law” generally speaking, in Israel or anywhere else for that matter…lol
Obama is being challenged for sure. But what he did already should be acknowledged. It was he that put this story on the front page of every major European newspaper and even the NY Times placed it on the first page of their ‘International News’ section.
It is hard to predict how this publicity will play out but I suspect it will not be to Israel’s benefit. If they have any sense they are probably beginning to see that those two buildings are carrying a price tag much higher than they could possibly be worth. What an incredible scene — homeless Palestinians, greedy settlers stealing their houses, thug faced IDF setting a perimeter.
The homes are not the only issue, but zoning, roads, the wall and other projects. As an example, here is a report on the Eastern Ring Road and what the Israelis want to do to cut off the Palestinians with the road in the “Jerusalem Master Plan” –
EASTERN RING ROAD
Just a few words about “condemnation,” when it says other nations or whomever condemns the actions. Do you know how many times Israel has been “condemned” for its actions? Plenty, has that ever led to anything substantive in regard to the Palestinians? No, so I am going to post something I said elsewhere –
We could have a show of the top ten condemnations. They are as plentiful as pigeon droppings, and just as useless. They are used to somehow make the general population think that these governing bodies or those in power really care, that they have the same concern that any “moral” party would have – its all a matter of placation for the masses, they don’t care. When you read about or hear a condemnation think of a fart, it is just as useful. When you hear or read a condemnation, take it as a sign that nothing of significance will be done by those in power, especially when it is one of the “in group nations.”
Now see if anything, anything follows the “condemnation.” Advice, don’t hold your breath.
“The Israel foreign ministry has released a hundred and fifty page defense of the IDF’s “Operation Cast Lead”.
You can read about it here.
But I can tell you basically what it says in a few lines about any accusation, ‘X’.
1. We didn’t do X.
2. If we did X, it was legal.
3. If we did X, and it wasn’t legal, then we are investigating those cases.
4. In any event, we will try not to do X again, if we can.
Just take your favorite war crimes – use of human shields, white phosphorus – and substitute it for ‘X’.
I am not exactly sure of Israel’s strategy, if it has one. It has now made its definitive case before the Goldstone Commission publishes its report, thus giving Goldstone ample time to examine the Israeli report. If Goldstone makes extensive mention of the report, then Israel will not be able to say that Goldstone ignored its side of the story. Of course, there will be those who say that this is not enough (a replay of the ICC verdict on the so-called security fence, where Israel only made its case in writing, which gave American Judge Thomas Burgenthal enough of a rope to partially exonerate Israel.)
This story “broke” yesterday. Since then I haven’t seen it in any of the world media outlets. Ynet and Haaretz and Jerusalem Post. C’est tout.
Compare that with the sensational and instantaneous effect of the Breaking the Silence testimonies two week ago.
Ah, but as we Israelis like to say, the world is against us. Interesting that Israel can lose the hasbara war outside Israel to a small organization of IDF veterans.
That must drive the Israeli government nuts.
POSTED BY JERRY HABER”
On Magnes Zionist 7-31-09
The US dog without teeth whipped by its own AIPAC-ADL tail tip, or How “ZOG” is not
quite a wild figment of neo-Nazi imagination: http://www.kabobfest.com/2009/08/talk-is-cheap-on-israels-east-jerusalem-disposessions.html
AKA Obama’s hope is no hope at all. Even if he went out on the bully pulpit against ALL settlements on occupied land in the last 42 years, AND cut off all aid to Israel, nothing would change. Of course he’s actually done and said much less…
Oops, one thing would change, the USA would benefit tremendously from such action.
Perish the thought, more money to fix things at home and good PR in the eyes of the whole world except Israel. And too, a better geo-strategic position in the region of
the number one commodity in the world, oil.
Unfortunately to get the correct decision from the US government means you have to have the “power of state.” So the problem is much deeper than merely a single issue, and it getting on the radar. The fact of the matter is that the power of state is stolen from the people and given to the few – this is not a new problem, but one that we have had in this country since the beginning.
It might be better is I just repeat what I have said elsewhere -
Also, let me add another note for emphasis – did you notice that I said the current power structure is no different than what has gone on in the past? That is because there are always moneyed elites vying for control. The only reason why someone would be terribly alarmed about the “Zionists” (both foreign and domestic, ethnic and empathetic, religious and non-religious) is if they had some strange idea that this has never happened before (that an elite controls the US government) – or, they are antisemites (who did not mind the Morgans and the Mellons, but cannot stand those “Jews”).
The only possible argument that can be made in regard to Zionist elites is that they have a “foreign” goal, rather than previous ones who at least planted some goals here in the states. I suppose one could look at it in this way, but there is no argument that this process of moneyed and powerful elites ruling is something new. This is in the very warp and woof of the “American” way (no matter how much bullshit is written about the people), and the only thing that stops it is the unstoppable resistance of the people. Either you go after the real entrenched culprit, or even if after you have removed the current group from power, another will take its place – it has to be total systemic change.
In other words, it is time to wake up – it does not matter how many bodies you switch around in Washington. You will not be able to unearth what is taking place unless you are willing to walk up as a people and take the scepter from their clutching hand.
These things lack the proper words to describe them.
Put these video up for the world to see in a public forum like times square. Where Original were these settlers from to be gin with.
Someone should send Obama the video…or maybe he thinks its payback and the Palestinians had something to do with slavery too.
What has this world come to …should anarchist rule or is someone going to help them see the light? Maybe it is a cult but whatever it is …it is terrible and such a discraceful
thing to be affiliated with these types of INHUMANEBEINGS. WHY WHY is this not in the daily news everywhere and on tv, this is equivalent to an alien invasion with the most powerful country turning the other cheek. I am ashamed to be an American and wish to leave this zionist loving scumbag of a country for somewhere else where someone has not been driven off their land and exterminated like bugs. who fell asleep at the wheel to allow the creation of such a place. If their is a hell may they all rot and suffer, …but I believe that too is another of the lies they perpetrated onto the world. I have read enough to see they are completely evil with a capital E all those whom blindly support and not blindly support…sickening..I think of them and my brain and stomach ache and twist with anguish. may they all get what they deserve someday.
Comments on this entry are closed.