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Sheikh Jarrah: Palestinians await Jerusalem evictions ruling Sheikh Jarrah: Palestinians offered way out from evictions
(about 5 hours later)
The threatened evictions became a flashpoint for violence earlier this yearThe threatened evictions became a flashpoint for violence earlier this year
An Israeli court is to decide the fate of Palestinians facing eviction in East Jerusalem in a case which has become the focus of international attention. Israel's top court has proposed a plan to enable Palestinians threatened with eviction in East Jerusalem to stay, in a closely-watched and divisive case.
The long-awaited hearing concerns four of more than 70 families appealing against an order to leave their homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. The Supreme Court was expected to issue a ruling to end a long legal battle but urged the sides to compromise instead.
Lower courts have ruled the land where they have lived for decades historically belongs to Jewish owners. It proposed the four families could stay in their homes in Sheikh Jarrah if they recognised the land was owned by a Jewish settlement company.
The issue fuelled tensions leading to the Israeli-Gaza conflict in May. The issue has fuelled Israel-Palestinian tensions in recent months.
After days of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians protesting against the threatened evictions, Hamas, the militant Palestinian group which runs the Gaza Strip, fired rockets towards Jerusalem in what it said was in part a response to Israeli "harassment" in Sheikh Jarrah. The threat of evictions stoked some of the worst violence between Israeli police and Palestinians in Jerusalem in years, culminating in an 11-day conflict with Gaza after its militant Hamas rulers fired rockets at the city in what it said was partly a response to Israeli "harassment" in Sheikh Jarrah.
In 11 days of hostilities which followed, at least 256 people were killed in Gaza, according to the UN, and 13 people were killed in Israel. The fighting ended in a ceasefire. Under the court's plan, the Palestinians - among more than 70 families threatened with eviction - would remain as "protected tenants" who cannot be evicted for the foreseeable future so long as they pay rent to the Jewish organisation which owns the land - a status quo which existed up until the 1980s.
The United Nations' human rights chief has called on Israel not to carry out any evictions in Sheikh Jarrah. The court gave the Palestinians seven days to present a list of qualifying residents, effectively deferring a final decision until at least then.
Her office has said the displacement of Palestinians there by Jewish settlers might be a war crime under international law. The case has become the focus of international attention and a rallying point for campaigners opposed to Israeli settlement activity. The United Nations' human rights chief has called on Israel not to carry out any evictions in Sheikh Jarrah, with her office warning such a move might constitute a war crime under international law.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and in effect annexed it later on. Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and in effect annexed it later on. It does not regard the East as occupied territory but rather views the whole of the city as its capital - a claim not recognised by most of the international community.
It does not regard the East as occupied territory but rather views the whole of the city as its capital - a claim not recognised by most of the international community.
Israel says the issue of Sheikh Jarrah is not a matter for the state but a private property dispute subject to the decisions of the courts.Israel says the issue of Sheikh Jarrah is not a matter for the state but a private property dispute subject to the decisions of the courts.
Sheikh Jarrah: The land dispute in the eye of a stormSheikh Jarrah: The land dispute in the eye of a storm
Why are Palestinians losing their homes in East Jerusalem?Why are Palestinians losing their homes in East Jerusalem?
Monday's hearing in the High Court is the culmination of nearly 30 years of legal proceedings, which began when the land's registered Jewish owners sought to evict the Palestinian residents for non-payment of rent. Monday's hearing is the culmination of nearly 30 years of legal proceedings, which began when the land's registered Jewish owners sought to evict the Palestinian residents for non-payment of rent.
The Palestinians claimed they were the rightful owners of the property, which they said had been guaranteed them by Jordan which had settled the families there after it occupied the area in 1948. The Palestinians claimed they were the rightful owners of the property, which they said had been guaranteed them by Jordan when it settled the families there after it occupied the area in the Arab-Israel war of 1948.
The Palestinians' claim was rejected by a Jerusalem court in 2020 and the eviction order upheld.The Palestinians' claim was rejected by a Jerusalem court in 2020 and the eviction order upheld.
Palestinians see the case as part of a wider move by Israeli settlers to take over Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim as the capital of a hoped-for independent state.Palestinians see the case as part of a wider move by Israeli settlers to take over Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim as the capital of a hoped-for independent state.
In 2003, rights to the land where they live in Sheikh Jarrah were bought by a Jewish organisation which plans to develop the area for Jewish settlement. In 2003, rights to land where they live in Sheikh Jarrah were bought by a Jewish organisation which plans to develop the area for Jewish settlement.
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