Palestinian families facing eviction from their homes in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood turned down on Tuesday an Israeli court’s offer made last month, the Middle East Monitor reported.
According to the court’s proposal, Sheikh Jarrah residents would be granted ‘protected residence’ status if they pay rent to the settler organization that claims the land on which their homes are built.
Statement from the families of Sheikh Jarrah pic.twitter.com/737MFmUwyW
— Mohammed El-Kurd (@m7mdkurd) November 2, 2021
The ruling would list Jewish-owned Nahalat Shimon company as the owners of the property and the three Palestinian families would be forced to pay rent biennially in the sum of 2,400 shekels ($743).
The Palestinian families would also agree to pay legal and court costs in the sum of 30,000 shekels ($9,282) to the Nahalat Shimon Company. The court added that over the 15 years, the land ownership issue can be adjudicated.
The court gave the two sides until today to present their own amendments to the proposal but warned that it will issue a binding rule if the proposal is rejected.
منى الكرد الآن في حي الشيخ جراح pic.twitter.com/ogvsaQk7Xr
— أحمد دراوشة (@AhDarawsha) November 2, 2021
Palestinians have refused to agree to the Israeli Supreme Court’s ruling, which would see their land and homes taken from them and handed to settler groups.
“The people of Sheikh Jarrah rejected the settlement proposal,” prominent social media activist Mohammed El-Kurd tweeted on Tuesday.
The decision will have serious repercussions for other Palestinian families who all face eviction from their homes by illegal Jewish settlers.
Currently, there are open eviction lawsuits against a total of approximately 50-60 families in Sheikh Jarrah (30 families – Kerem Al-Jaouni section and 20-30 families – Um Haroun section), which are at various stages of legal proceedings.
(The Palestine Chronicle, MEMO, Social Media
