Now in Beit Hanina: Jerusalem Families Face Forced Eviction, Dispossession

On the morning of 18 April 2012, the Jerusalem court Bailiff’s Office and Israeli police forcibly evicted the first Palestinian family from their home in Beit Hanina, in the north of East Jerusalem. The eviction was based on a court ruling that stated that a Jewish family had purchased the house 73 years ago.

Israeli sources have reported that the evicted Natsheh family of 14 could not prove their ownership of the property, as their claim failed in a 2004 court case brought to court by the Jewish buyer. The Israel Land Fund Association that initiated the legal process behind the eviction intends to seek a building permit for dozens of housing units for Jews on the site.

Aryeh King, the director of the association, announced plans to take possession of other sites in Beit Hanina and the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, which would mean further evictions of Palestinians.

The Natsheh family has confirmed their possession of the land as far back as the 1930s; however, the Jerusalem Magistrate`s Court decided to grant ownership of the property to King’s client. The Natsheh family could not provide the appropriate representation to prove their ownership of the land.

The monthly report of the Land Research Center mentioned that two other families (Jamjūm and al-Musalmāni), consisting of 29 persons, including nine children, have been in danger of eviction since 2001, on the pretext of their having built on state property and pursuant to Jordanian Law of 1953, which allows the confiscation and use of the land for public interest, according to the statement of Israel Land administration.

Download the report in Arabic.

However, the Asian Agency News recently quoted a Palestinian newspaper (al-Quds), that Beit Hanina is overrun with fraud, which may have resulted in the leaking of land to settlers. Forged contracts are available to “buy” hundreds or thousands of acres in the east and west of the neighborhood, and many of these properties are diverted to settler colonies. Many families in this area have also faced threats to their land ownership through blackmail and extortion. Read the article in Arabic.

Upon the eviction, Maxwell Gaylard, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, released a statement condemning Israel’s unlawful act, saying “Evictions of Palestinians from their homes and properties in occupied territory contravene international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, and should cease.”

A few days later, the European Union missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah followed Gaylard’s example. The EU missions expressed their deep concern about the plans to build a new settler colonies in the midst of Beit Hanina, and reiterated the EU position that Israeli settler colonies in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law.