{"id":204525,"date":"2010-10-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T18:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?p=204525"},"modified":"2019-03-12T18:47:24","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T18:47:24","slug":"auto-insert-204525","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-204525\/","title":{"rendered":"The Case of Sheikh Jarrah – Israeli settlers’ activities in Palestinian neighbourhoods – OCHA report"},"content":{"rendered":"
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THE CASE OF SHEIKH JARRAH<\/strong><\/span> <\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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UPDATED VERSION, OCTOBER 2010<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Sheikh Jarrah is a Palestinian residential neighbourhood located to the north of the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem.<\/span>1<\/sup><\/span> <\/sup><\/span>The neighbourhood is home to around 2,800 Palestinian residents and includes many diplomatic missions and well-known landmarks, such as the Orient House, the American Colony Hotel and the Palestinian National Theatre.<\/span>2<\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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Owing to its strategic location, Israeli settler groups have in recent years made persistent efforts to take over land and property in Sheikh Jarrah  in order to establish new settlements in the area.<\/span>3  <\/sup><\/span>As a result, over 60 Palestinians have lost their homes  and another 500 remain at risk of  forced eviction, dispossession and  displacement in the near future.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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ISRAELI SETTLER ACTIVITY IN PALESTINIAN<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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NEIGHBOURHOODS IN EAST JERUSALEM<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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The forced displacement of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem continues to be of serious humanitarian concern. In Sheikh Jarrah and other Palestinian neighbourhoods that form part of the so-called “<\/span>Historic<\/i><\/span>al” or “<\/span>Holy<\/i><\/span>” Basin around the Old City, the threat of displacement remains high owing to continuous settler activity. Israeli settler groups have used several different methods to gain control of land and property in these areas:<\/span>4<\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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  • The transfer of Palestinian land or property that has been confiscated or expropriated by Israeli authorities from its Palestinian or Jordanian owners, for example under the Absentee Property Law, to settler groups.<\/span> 5 <\/sup><\/span><\/li>\n
  • The transfer of land that has been designated as “public” or “state” land owing to its environmental, historical or religious significance to the exclusive control of settler groups. This has, for example, been the case in Silwan.<\/span> 6 <\/sup><\/span><\/li>\n
  • The use of the Israeli legal system to pursue claims to land or property allegedly owned by Jewish individuals or associations in East Jerusalem prior to 1948. Israeli law acknowledges such claims while denying equivalent rights to Palestinian refugees owning land or property in areas that are now in Israel.<\/li>\n
  • The purchase, often through an intermediary, of strategically located Palestinian land or property by settler groups, in several cases through a process which reportedly has included threats, deception, false depositions or forged documentation.<\/span>7 <\/sup><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    Settler activity in Palestinian neighbourhoods, which in some cases has been directly or indirectly supported by the Israeli government or government institutions, has intensified in recent years and is often accompanied by attempts to have the Palestinian residents forcibly evicted. This has, for <\/span>Israeli s<\/span>ett<\/span>ler groups have targeted various parts of Sheikh Jarrah in recent years. This includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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    Karm Al Ja’ouni \/ Tomb Quarter<\/strong><\/span>8<\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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    More than 60 Palestinians, including 24 children, have been forcibly evicted from their homes in this area by Israeli authorities since late 2008.<\/span>9 <\/sup><\/span> <\/span>The evictions took place in the context of an ongoing legal dispute over ownership of the land.<\/span>10 <\/sup><\/span> <\/span>The evictions have been condemned by the international community as being considered to run counter to international law.<\/span>11<\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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    Immediately following the evictions the homes were handed over to settler groups, which already occupy several other buildings in the area.  According to plans submitted to the Jerusalem Municipality, the settlers intend to demolish the <\/span>entire area, including 28 Palestinian homes, to <\/span>make way for a new Israeli settlement.<\/span>12<\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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    The plans threaten to displace over 300 Palestinian <\/span>residents, most of which are Palestinian refugees <\/span>who moved to the area under an UNRWAsponsored housing scheme in 1956.<\/span>13<\/sup><\/span> <\/span>The refugee <\/span>families, all of which fled or were expelled from <\/span>their homes in 1948 from areas that are now in Israel, are unable to reclaim their original land and property while facing renewed displacement. At <\/span>the time of writing, formal eviction proceedings had been initiated against eight extended <\/span>Palestinian families, which remain at imminent <\/span>risk of eviction.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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    The situation in the neighbourhood has sharply deteriorated since the evictions owing to increasing tension and frequent clashes between the settlers, the police and the remaining Palestinian residents. Since August 2009, many members of the evicted families, as well as Palestinian, Israeli and international activists that have participated in ongoing demonstrations against the evictions have been injured, harassed, arrested or detained.<\/p><\/div>\n

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    Kubaniyat Im Haroun<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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    A protracted legal battle over the land in this part of the neighbourhood came to an end in September 2010 when the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in favour of a settler group claiming pre-1948 ownership of the land. Earlier this year the settlers, who forcefully occupied an abandoned Palestinian building in the area in 2009, initiated eviction proceedings against at least two Palestinian families. While formal eviction notices have not yet been issued, the Supreme Court’s ruling significantly increases the likelihood of the future eviction and displacement of the 200 Palestinians living in this area, most of whom are refugees, along with the establishment of a new Israeli settlement.<\/p><\/div>\n

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    The Shepherd Hotel<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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    The Shepherd Hotel and adjacent land, originally <\/span>owned by the Husseini family, was expropriated by Israeli authorities in 1967 and later sold to a settler organization in 1985. The organization, which intends to build a new settlement of around <\/span>90 housing units on the premises, has already <\/span>received final approval for at least 20 housing units <\/span>from the Israeli authorities.<\/span>14<\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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    Karm el Mufti<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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    Named after its former owner, the Mufti of Jerusalem, this olive grove was expropriated by Israeli authorities and later transferred to the Ateret Cohanim settler association. Although the land is currently zoned as a green area, which restricts construction, the association has initiated a process to enable it to build a new settlement of 250 housing units on the premises.<\/p><\/div>\n

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    The eviction of the Hanoun and Al Ghawi families in August 2009<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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    On the morning of 2 August 2009 a large number of Israeli police and border police forcibly evicted the Hanoun and Al Ghawi families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. A total of 53 people, including 20 children, lost their homes and became displaced, while their belongings were loaded onto a truck and later dumped on the street close to UNRWA’s headquarters.<\/p>\n

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    The eviction has had devastating consequences for the families. In addition to losing their homes, their main source of physical and economic security, the families are faced with high legal bills, fines and charges, including for the cost of their own eviction.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

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    Planned Amana Headquarters<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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    In 2005 Israeli authorities transferred a previously expropriated plot of land, located adjacent to the <\/span>St. Joseph’s Hospital in Sheikh Jarrah, to the Gush <\/span>Emunim settler organization. Despite objections by <\/span>the Palestinian residents of the area, the Jerusalem <\/span>Municipality in 2009 granted the organization a permit to build a three-storey office and conference center intended to serve as the organization’s <\/span>headquarters.<\/span>15<\/sup><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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    The Glassman Campus<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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    An empty plot of land, located next to the Al-Hayat Medical Center, has been obtained and designated for the building of a Jewish religious-educational institution, funded by Canadian financiers.\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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    FORCED DISPLACEMENT IN EAST JERUSALEM<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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    Forced evictions, together with house demolitions ordered or carried out by the Jerusalem Municipality, are the most common cause of forced displacement in East Jerusalem<\/span>16<\/sup><\/span>. In 2009, at least 380 Palestinians, including over 90 children, were forcibly displaced, and another 190, including over 85 children, otherwise affected as a result. While fewer demolitions have taken place since the beginning of 2010 compared with previous years, it is estimated that there are currently at least 1,500 pending demolition orders in East Jerusalem, potentially affecting several thousand Palestinians.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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    The present pattern of eviction and demolitions, accompanied by plans to establish settlements in the heart of Palestinian neighbourhoods, contribute to the creation of facts on the ground that fragment Palestinian neighbourhoods and weaken their physical, social and economic fabric, while forging a contiguous link between Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the remainder of the West Bank.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

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    HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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    The forced displacement of Palestinian residents and the expansion of Israeli settlements in Palestinian neighbourhoods of occupied East Jerusalem, including in Sheikh Jarrah, raise a number of humanitarian concerns:<\/p><\/div>\n

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