In occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinians face evictions | DW News

Key Concepts

• Eviction and Displacement: The forced removal of Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem.
• Settler Organizations: Groups (e.g., Ateret Cohanim) that facilitate the acquisition of Palestinian property to increase Jewish presence in East Jerusalem.
• Legal Asymmetry: The application of Israeli laws that allow Jewish claims to pre-1948 property while denying reciprocal rights to Palestinians.
• Demolition for Lack of Permits: The practice of destroying Palestinian structures due to the near-impossibility of obtaining municipal building permits.
• Archaeological Tourism Parks: Government-backed projects used as a pretext for clearing Palestinian neighborhoods.

1. The Crisis in Batn al-Hawa and Silwan

The neighborhood of Batn al-Hawa in Silwan, East Jerusalem, is the site of systematic displacement. Palestinian families, such as the Rajabi and Basus families, have been evicted from homes they occupied for decades. These evictions are characterized by sudden police interventions—often occurring in the morning—where residents are forcibly removed and their homes are immediately handed over to Israeli settlers.

2. Legal Framework and Discriminatory Policies

The displacement is facilitated by a legal system that functions with inherent bias:

• Property Claims: Israeli law permits Jewish Israelis to reclaim property owned by their ancestors prior to the 1948 establishment of the state. However, this right is not extended to Palestinians who were displaced from their homes during the same period.
• Judicial Rulings: Palestinian families have fought these eviction orders for decades, but Israeli courts, including the Supreme Court, have consistently ruled in favor of the settlers.
• Institutional Bias: Experts note that the Jerusalem City Hall and government bodies prioritize planning that benefits settlers, neglecting the needs of the rapidly growing Palestinian population.

3. The Role of Settler Organizations

Organizations like Ateret Cohanim play a central role in this process. Their objective is to expand the Jewish presence in Palestinian neighborhoods, particularly those near holy sites like the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount).

• Methodology: These groups utilize claims based on 19th-century Jewish Yemenite trusts, arguing that the land was historically Jewish before the community left in the 1930s.
• Perspective: Proponents of these evictions frame the process as a "return" of Jewish property, often dismissing the current Palestinian inhabitants as "illegal squatters," regardless of their long-term residency.

4. Demolitions and Urban Planning

Beyond direct evictions, Palestinians face widespread home demolitions in areas like Al-Bustan.

• Building Permits: The municipality frequently demolishes homes citing a "lack of building permits." However, these permits are notoriously difficult for Palestinians to obtain, creating a cycle where legal housing is effectively impossible to maintain.
• Strategic Clearing: Land is often cleared under the guise of creating "archaeological tourism parks," which are subsequently managed by settler organizations. This effectively erases Palestinian history and infrastructure, such as pathways and gardens, replacing them with ruins or settler-controlled sites.

5. Statistical Impact and Human Cost

• Scale of Displacement: According to the United Nations, over 200 Palestinian households in East Jerusalem are currently facing eviction cases filed by settlers.
• Human Impact: Residents describe the experience as "suffocating" and "deeply painful," noting the loss of generational homes where families were born, married, and raised. The sudden destruction of property—including walls, olive trees, and gardens—leaves families in a state of total ruin.

Synthesis and Conclusion

The situation in Silwan represents a coordinated effort to alter the demographic and physical landscape of East Jerusalem. By leveraging discriminatory property laws, municipal planning bias, and the backing of settler organizations, the Israeli state is systematically displacing Palestinian residents. The combination of court-ordered evictions and administrative demolitions creates an environment where Palestinian presence is increasingly precarious, leading to widespread fear that they will be entirely driven out of the city. The conflict is not merely a series of individual property disputes but a structural process of dispossession.