More than 150 Jerusalemite families who reside in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem and its neighbouring neighbourhoods are plagued by the spectre of impending mass demolition and displacement, a few weeks before the holy month of Ramadan.
Israeli courts are slated to convene
potentially pivotal hearings on eviction and displacement cases in March,
putting more than 80 Jerusalemites at risk of being forcibly relocated at once.
In order to take possession of the
Jerusalemites' homes and properties, forcibly evict their residents, and deny
them the chance to stay in their ancestral homes, rights groups claim that
settler associations file eviction claims against Palestinian families in
Jerusalem on the basis of racist and discriminatory Israeli laws.
In the Old City, the Sheikh Jarrah
neighbourhood, and the town of Silwan, dozens of Palestinian families would
lose their homes, according to a warning from the Israeli activist group Ir
Amim, which focuses on Jerusalem issues. This would be the largest eviction and
uprooting operation ever undertaken in Israel.
The organisation issued a warning, stating
that if the displacements go forward, it will not only be a grave breach of
international and human rights law but also have a "severe humanitarian
impact on the families and further degrade conditions for an accepted political
future."
Comments
Post a Comment