Jerusalem / PNN - Palestinians living in East Jerusalem face a daily threat of Israeli forces destroying their homes. The Israeli campaign launched against Palestinians living in the city regularly issues demands, ordering Palestinians to evacuate their homes.
Nearly 80 businesses and homes have been demolished since the beginning of this year. The latest homes to be destroyed were those of Abu Eisha in Beit Hanina and the Kurd family, who were expelled from their Sheikh Jarrah home in late July.
"Israeli orders are instructing land confiscation and the demolition of houses," Al Qawasmi, a researcher of settlement affairs, said. "Israeli forces are setting a dangerous precedent by removing Palestinians from their homes and emptying Jerusalem of their presence. The Abu Eisha house in Beit Hanina was comprised of five floors, all of which were fully licensed except the last floor. However, Israel used still this as an excuse to demolish the whole house."
"The demolished building was previously occupied by 10 families who are now homeless," she added. “Their future presence in Jerusalem has been severely threatened.”
Al Qawasmi explained that the Israeli Court recently issued demolition orders for 47 of the 88 houses in the Burstan neighborhood of Silwan, East Jerusalem.
“Israel’s intention is to Judaize Jerusalem and establish an Israeli settlement on the ruins of the Palestinian houses in Silwan," she said.
Director of the Jerusalem Center for Economic and Social Rights Ziad Al Hamouri said, "Israel makes it very difficult for Palestinians to acquire building permits and the process costs them enormous sums of money up to 30,000 USD. Settlement activity and the targeting of Palestinian existence have increased significantly since Annapolis, especially since the beginning of this year."
"Israel issued the order to evacuate the house in Sheikh Jarrah and has threatened 27 other houses in the neighborhood in order to join Israeli settlements,” he added.
“Sheikh Jarrah is near to the Hebrew University and French Hill,” Al Hamouri said. "The plan is to isolate Jerusalem from the ancient town of Beit Hanina where the Shikh Jarrah neighborhood is located, thus linking the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumin with Jerusalem."
Al Hamouri explained that many Palestinians living in Sheikh Jarrah have been there since 1956, following an agreement with the Jordanian government. The agreement transferred the ownership of the properties to the Palestinian families.
In 1972, Israeli settlers filed a lawsuit against the Palestinian population of Sheikh Jarrah, Based on forged documents from the Ottoman Empire, they claimed the land belonged to Israel.
"This issue is still ongoing today, and we have witnessed a significant escalation in Israeli attempts to take over districts of Jerusalem,” Al Hamouri added.
“There are currently 250,000 Palestinians in East Jerusalem in comparison to the 190,000 settlers that have made their homes there,” Al Hamouri said. “There are no Palestinians in West Jerusalem where Israel has full control. The apartheid wall, which Israel began constructing in 2002, isolated approximately 120,000 Palestinians from the city of Jerusalem. Many Palestinians have lost their identity, their property, and their land.”
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