Dispute over houses in East Jerusalem: Palestinian families reject compromise

They could have stayed for 15 years, but had to recognize a Jewish nationalist organization as the owner. Palestinian families rejected this compromise proposal from the Supreme Court in Israel. Now they are threatened with eviction.

Four Palestinian families in east Jerusalem have rejected a compromise proposal to prevent evictions. The Israeli Supreme Court is a court of occupation, the families write in a statement. The proposal is rejected unanimously.

For years, the possible eviction of Palestinian families has created enormous tensions that extend far beyond East Jerusalem. In the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, a Jewish nationalist organization is laying claim to several properties. Before the founding of the state of Israel, the land was owned by Jews.

Israeli courts have confirmed the nationalist organization’s reasoning in the past. However, the Palestinian families see themselves as the rightful owners of the houses.

The compromise proposal stipulated that the families recognize the property of the Jewish organization. For this they could have stayed in the houses for at least 15 years and only had to pay a small rent. However, the families speak of colonialism by settlers and therefore reject a compromise.

A decision on eviction is pending

The Supreme Court must now decide without compromise whether the families must be evicted. Israel conquered, occupied and later annexed East Jerusalem in 1967.

In May, the tensions in Sheikh Jarrah contributed to the armed conflict between Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Israel. At that time, Hamas fired rockets at the greater Jerusalem area, partly justifying this with the tensions in the neighborhood.