OHCHR condemns forced evictions of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 31st July. UN human rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on Tuesday expressed concern over the forced evictions of over 80 Palestinian families in the Silwan area of occupied East Jerusalem.

The office said in a statement that these evictions are “facilitated by the unlawful application of discriminatory Israeli laws against Palestinians in the occupied territory,”.

Some 87 Palestinian families about 680 individuals face legal actions begun by “settlers” to remove them from their houses in Batn al-Hawa.

The Jerusalem District Court dismissed the appeals of the Gheith, Abu Nab, and Al-Rajabi families against eviction orders issued in lawsuits filed by Jewish Israeli settlers aiming to evict them from their homes on July 9, 10.

The affected families reside in 9 residential units which house over 80 Palestinians, including children, women, the elderly, and individuals with special needs, the OHCHR stated.

It stressed that one particular area of concern involves the Shehadeh family, consisted of 15 people, including 8 children, who face “escalating steps” toward their forced eviction.

Israeli High Court rejected a petition against an 11 April 2024 Supreme Court decision that ordered the family to leave their 4 story residence in Batn al-Hawa to make way for Jewish Israeli settlers.

The family received a notice demanding they vacate their home within 20 days, after which the settlers could enforce the eviction order.

“These cases are examples of an ongoing systematic settlers’ campaign and application of a range of laws discriminatorily,” the UN rights office said.

It added “to uproot Palestinians from their homes, take over their property and implant Israeli settlers in the heart of Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.”

The international humanitarian law forbids Israel from enforcing its legal system in occupied territories, which extends to using Israeli laws to evict Palestinians from their homes.

The rights office declared that these laws are intrinsically discriminatory against Palestinians, breaching Israel’s international human rights commitments.