OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — An Israeli court on Tuesday froze
the planned eviction of a Palestinian family in the flashpoint East Jerusalem
neighborhood of
Sheikh Jarrah, pending an appeal.
اضافة اعلان
The Salem family had been ordered to surrender the property
to Jewish settlers who have claimed ownership of the plot.
Sheikh Jarrah has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance
against Israeli control of
Jerusalem, and the Salem family's imminent eviction
made them a growing focus of the tensions there.
The land rights battle between Jewish settlers and
Palestinians in the neighborhood has sparked clashes and partly fuelled the
11-day Israeli war on the Gaza Strip in May.
The Palestinian family received their eviction order in
November, with a deadline to vacate by March 1.
A lawyer for the family,
Medhat Diba, said the Jerusalem
Magistrate's court agreed to suspend the eviction until it ruled on an appeal
launched by the Palestinians.
The court also released a decision confirming the freeze.
Khalil Salem, a member of the family, told AFP the decision
was "a positive step because we were on the verge of losing our
house."
Earlier this month clashes broke out when far-right Israeli
lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir opened an office near the family's house.
The UN said its personnel visited the Salem family on
February 18.
Israel annexed
East Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim as
their future capital, following the 1967 Arab-Israeli War in a move not
recognized by most of the international community.
Jewish settlers groups have claimed ownership of various
plots where Palestinians live, using an Israeli law that allows Jews to reclaim
land lost during the conflict that coincided with Israel's creation.
No equivalent land reclamation law exists for Palestinians
who lost homes in West Jerusalem.
Seven Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah have challenged
their planned evictions at Israel's Supreme Court, with highly-anticipated
decisions pending.
More than 200,000 settlers now illegally live in East
Jerusalem, alongside about 300,000 Palestinians. The Jewish settlements in the
city are considered illegal under international law.
Read more Region and World
.jpg)
.jpg)
