The Israeli Supreme Court deferred its decision on the forcible removal of the four Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah on Monday, following months of protests and international pressure to stop the displacement of Palestinians from the East Jerusalem neighborhood.
In the long-awaited court hearing on Monday, the court refused to rule on the status of ownership over the land, instead proposing that the Palestinians remain in their homes under the status of “protected residents.”
As protected residents, the Palestinian families would be forced to pay yearly rent to the Israeli settler organization Nahalat Shimon, which claims ownership over Sheikh Jarrah and is seeking to replace its Palestinian residents with Israeli settlers.
As per the court’s proposal, such an agreement between the families and the settlers would stave off their eviction for the “coming years,” but would not prevent Nahalat Shimon from seeking to forcibly evict the residents in the future.
Accepting their status as protected residents would in effect recognize settler ownership of the land — a condition the residents have categorically rejected.
According to Haaretz, the representative of Nahalat Shimon opposed the compromise and “demanded the families recognize the Jewish ownership of the land.”
“People must continue to live there and that’s the idea, to try to reach a practical arrangement without making various declarations. We have seen how much this interests the media. We want a practical solution,” Justice Isaac Amit said.
Haaretz also claimed that “the Palestinians agreed to the compromise but rejected the settlers’ demand.”
Mohammed El-Kurd, a resident of the neighborhood and one of the four families whose appeal was being heard on Monday, however clarified on Twitter that “no decision or agreement has been reached.”
“Instead of making a ruling on land ownership, the court decided to evade its responsibilities and pressure us into reaching an agreement with settlers.”
Earlier in the day during the hearing El-Kurd tweeted that the judges were “placing massive pressure on us to reach a settlement with the settler organization, avoiding a substantive ruling regarding our rights in the land.”
“This cowardice is to evade potentially detrimental international ramifications,” he said.
Alaa Salayma, another one of the Palestinians under threat of displacement, also told Middle East Eye that the families had rejected the compromise, saying “the minute we pay rent for our homes, it means we have given up ownership. This is not an option. We are the owners of these homes.”
According to testimony from the residents on social media, during the court proceedings, Israeli forces raided Sheikh Jarrah, stormed homes, and arrested people from the neighborhood.
Following the court hearing, Palestinians took to social media to express their rejection of the Supreme Court’s proposal, with many pointing to the fact that Palestinians cannot expect to receive justice from a court where one of the judges himself is a settler.
Another court date to decide on the fate of the families has yet to be set. At least nine other families in the neighborhood are also under threat of forcible displacement.
In May the court made a similar decision, telling the residents to “come to an agreement” with the settlers.
Many Palestinians, including residents of the neighborhood, have expressed concerns that the courts are merely postponing the decision on the forcible evictions due to increased international pressure, and will wait until the attention surrounding Sheikh Jarrah dies down to make a decision.
Here’s what the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) has to say – italics mine:
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=27067&LangID=E
The evictions, if ordered and implemented, would violate Israel’s obligations under international law. The eviction proceedings in these cases and in other similar cases in East Jerusalem, are based on the application of two Israeli laws, the Absentee Property Law and the Legal and Administrative Matters Law of 1970. According to an OCHA survey in 2020, at least 218 Palestinian households in East Jerusalem, including the families in Sheikh Jarrah, have eviction cases filed against them. The majority of these have been initiated by ‘settler organizations’, placing 970 people, including 424 children, at risk of displacement….we wish to emphasize that East Jerusalem remains part of the occupied Palestinian territory, in which International Humanitarian Law applies. The occupying Power must respect and cannot confiscate private property in occupied territory, and must respect, unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country. This means that Israel cannot impose its own set of laws in occupied territory, including East Jerusalem, to evict Palestinians from their homes. In addition, the Absentee Property Law and the Legal and Administrative Matters Law are applied in an inherently discriminatory manner, based solely on the nationality or origin of the owner.
“The majority of these cases have been initiated by ‘settler organizations’, ”
should read !!!.
The majority of these cases have been initiated by “Illegal Squatter invaders”.
The Land theft and ethnic cleansing continues.
Meanwhile:
Billie Eilish faces backlash after sending video message to ‘Israel’ – Quds News Network (qudsnen.co)
“Billie Eilish faces backlash after sending video message to ‘Israel’”
Quds News Network, August 1/21
“Occupied Palestine (QNN)- Popstar Billie Eilish is being criticized after promoting her new album ‘Happier Than Ever’ through a video addressing Israelis.
“In a promo for MTV Israel, Eilish said: ‘Hi Israel. This is Billie Eilish and I am so excited my new album ‘Happier Than Ever’ is out now.’
“The promo was shared on MTV Israel’s Instagram as a Story and as a post.
“Thousands of social media users criticized the popstar accusing her of being a Zionist.
“The outrage comes during a week, in which Israeli soldiers shot dead 20-year-old Shawkat Khalid Awad during the funeral of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who was also shot dead a day before.
“Calls for boycotting the occupation state have been increasingly spreading, especially with the Israeli daily violations of human rights and International law.
Ben & Jerry’s, an American multi-international ice-cream company owned by two Jewish businessmen, has recently announced cropping its sales to Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the eastern part of Jerusalem.
“The Olympics in Japan also saw several cases in which players withdrew, rejecting to play with Israeli athletes.”
Imagine the Supreme Court of the US, or Canada, or any other country telling the owner of something to come to an agreement with a thief.
The court has already ruled on the status of the land. It is owned by Jews and has been for a very long time. The Palestinians living their had previously agreed to pay rent but failed to do so. If they agreed previously to pay rent they directly indicated and acknowledged that the land is not theirs. This is a rent dispute case. Whenever Arabs and Muslims have had any type of control or influence in Jerusalem, they have always acted against Jews. They have never allowed freedom of religion. So all of you so called liberals and progressive types, supporting blind Palestinian moves like this only embolden the tyrannical element in Islamic society. Jerusalem, under Israeli control, provides the best option for all religions. This is true, whether you like it or not. So stop with the hypocrisy and antisemitism.