Sheikh Jarrah residents reject offer to delay eviction, 'Palestine will raise awareness'

In a major blow to the Israeli government, Palestinian families rejected the offer that has delayed their eviction by Jewish settlers in a tense Jerusalem. According to a report by the Associated Press, families living in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood near the Old City said their decision springs from "our belief in the justice of our cause and our right to our homes and our homeland." The development came as Palestine living in East Jerusalem faced forcible eviction from their homes even though the Israeli Supreme Court offered a compromise deal with Jewish settlers. Earlier in  August this year, the Supreme Court judges announced a practical solution for the two sides. The judges said both the parties must settle down their grievances that suits "practical arrangement".

The Court announced a “protected status” in order to safeguard around 70 families from eviction. It ordered the families to pay an annual fee of 1,500NIS (Rs 35,600) to the Nahalat Shimon company-- a settler organisation that lower courts have declared the rightful owners of the disputed properties, according to The Guardian report. However, the "practical arrangement" seems to be "unjust" for the Palestinian living in the disputed area. The four families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood said that rather than submit to an “unjust agreement” they would rely on the “Palestinian street” to raise international awareness of their plight. It is worth mentioning that the four families are among dozens in Jerusalem who are threatened with eviction by Jewish settler organizations in several cases that have been working their way through the Israeli court system for decades. 

Israel always presented the property dispute as a private "real-estate dispute"

The families, who are originally from Israel, said the Jordanian government conferred them the land on which their homes were later built-in exchange for their refugee status after it assumed power of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1948. They have been living there ever since. Notably, Israel has always presented the property dispute as a private real-estate dispute, however, human rights organisations and the Palestinians living in the area mark it as a coordinated attempt to push Palestinian residents out of Jerusalem. The United States has also vocalised out against the evictions, saying it threatens efforts to eventually revive the long-dormant peace process.

With inputs from AP

Image: AP