An Israeli occupation court today postponed a ruling on the forced expulsions of Palestinian families from the Batn al-Hawa area of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem.
The Israeli Central Court in Jerusalem postponed making a decision on the appeal submitted by 86 Palestinian families, comprising some 700 people, who are facing the imminent threat of forced expulsion from their houses in the neighborhood.
Head of the Committee for the Defense of Silwan, Fakhri Abu Diyad, said that the Israeli occupation court was not able to issue a ruling in favor of the colonial settlers thanks to the recent protests against the forced expulsions in Sheikh Jarrah, which were one of the reasons behind simmering tensions and massive protests against Israel’s settler-colonialism in the occupied territories, Palestinian villages and cities inside Israel and worldwide.
He stressed that the Israeli occupation authorities’ decision to “evict” the families from their houses in favor of the settlers is politically-motivated and comes as part of Israel’s efforts to ethnically cleanse Jerusalemite Palestinians.
Since the occupation of Jerusalem by Israel in June 1967, Israeli settlers colonial organizations, namely Elad and Ateret Cohanim, have claimed ownership of Palestinian property in Jerusalem. Backed by the Israeli state, judiciary and security services, these organizations have been working on wresting control of Palestinian property and convert it into colonial outposts as part of the efforts to ensure a Jewish majority in the city, as well as on managing archaeological sites in Silwan and overseeing their excavation. This scheme involves building new colonial tourist sites, such as the “City of David”, to bolster their propaganda.
Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA