A Second Nakba and Forced Eviction in Al Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood

Affected Families: The families of Maher Hanoon and Abdel Fattah Al Ghawi consisting of 10 nuclei families with 55 individual more than half of which are children. 

Address:  Al Sheikh Jarrah Housing – Jerusalem.

Date: August 4^th, 2009.

Building Description: Two buildings housing 10 nuclei families.

Violator: Israeli occupation forces in conjunction with Al Safardiem Colonial Society, Israeli courts, Jerusalem Land Department and the Israeli Police.

Pretext: The ownership of the two buildings by Jewish organizations.

Sheikh Jarrah in Brief:  The Housing is located 2 kilometers north of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Palestinian families in the Neighborhood are estimated to be 63 families that were forcefully evicted from their original towns and villages upon the 1948 Nakba. The total population of these families is almost 550 living in 28 buildings divided into 63 housing units.  

The Violation: Before the sunriseon Tuesday the 4^th of August, 2009, a large force of the Israeli Police and occupation soldiers arrived at the Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood. The Police had a final order to evict the Hanoon and Al Ghawi families from their homes after a lengthy, one-sided legal battle with Israeli colonists that lasted for 39 years.

Pic.1: Israeli colonists overtaking the houses of Al Hanoon and Al Ghawi – Al Sheikh Jarrah

Pic.2: The furniture of the two families thrown on Al Sheikh Jarrah Playground. Source: Al Quds Newspaper on Friday, August 7th, 2009.

Israeli forces knocked on the doors of the two families and gave them the eviction orders which instructed them to leave their house voluntarily in half an hour. Mr. Naser Ghawi, one of the evictees, indicated to Land Research Center (LRC)’s field researcher that:

With all the rudeness in the world, the Israeli Police informed us that we need to get out of the house now otherwise force will be used.

Pic.3: Members of Al Ghawi and Hanoon families sleeping on the street in front of their houses from which they were evicted. Colonists are currently living in these houses.

As for Al Hanoon family, Ms. Fiola Qassis, one of those who came from Haifa in solidarity with the evicted families, informed the researcher that:

The thing that affected me the most is what Mr. Maher Hanoon has done as he refused to take the tent provided to him by the International Committee for the Red Cross. He wanted to deliver a message to the whole world that he refuses the second eviction. The tent for him resembles homelessness and hopelessness. He actually preferred to sleep in the street rather than accept his second Nakba. I am just wondering what will happen to them during the winter season. Is it fate that he faces another Nakba while the whole world is watching without moving a muscle???

Pic.4: Mr. Maher Hanoon sleeping inside his car after colonists overtook his house. Source: Al Quds Newspaper, page 1, Friday August 7th, 2009.

Al Hanoon family has been living in the said building for the past 3 generations; the grandfather was the first to live in the building after its construction in the mid 1950’s. Mr. Maher Hanoon and his brother were later born. They got married in the building and had children in there, too. Currently, the Hanoon family consists of 17 Palestinian Jerusalemites who found themselves homeless within minutes. An international volunteer named Patrick Mastifos expressed the following to LRC’s field researcher:

The “house” per se is not important. What is important is the memories and dreams that grew up in that house. Here was a family that had a life and childhood memories that will stay there even if the house itself is occupied by colonists.    

Pic.5: The buildings of Hanoon and Al Ghawi families and a sign written on it “No for Ethnic Cleansing.” The picture was taken in March 2009 before the buildings were occupied by the colonists. 

Pic.6: No, the families of Al Hanoon and Al Ghawi live on the pavement - Al Sheikh Jarrah

It is worth pointing out that members of the families are currently living in the houses of relatives, neighbors and hotels while the males are furnishing the streets until their case is resolved.

The Case of Sheikh Jarrah Buildings:

The Construction and Building Ministry of the Jordanian Government signed a contract with UNRWA on November 16^th, 1954 upon which the Government builds 28 housing units to be given to social case refugees. On July 3^rd, 1956 an agreement was signed between the Jordanian Government and the beneficiary families as to be allowed to live in the 2540-m² buildings in exchange for given up all of the financial and social services provided by UNRWA to the refugees. Article 11 of the Agreement indicates that the rent is free while Article 12 stipulates that this Agreement does not affect in any shape or form the rights of the tenants to return to hisher original town or the right to claim any compensation or any political or economic rights to be had in the future. The tenants were later allowed to add two rooms as per an additional agreement signed on March 4^th, 1963. An additional agreement signed on November 26^th, 1962 gave the tenants the right to rent out the apartments while the tenant can pay the Jordanian Government 300 Jordanian Dinars to write the apartment in his name. Yet, the 1967 War prevented that from happening.      

Pic.7: The entrance of the threatened neighborhood in Sheikh Jarrah

Since the 1967 War, the eyes of the Israeli occupation forces and colonists began gazing at Al Sheikh Jarrah. A series of steps were taking to realize the goal of capturing the neighborhood including:

In 1970 Israel issued what came to be known as Land Liberating Law which gives the right to the land owner to demand it to return to his ownership. In 1971, a colonial organization called The Sefardiem Jerusalem Society claimed that it owned the lands atop which the buildings were erected. On September 11^th, 1972 the Absentee Properties’ Custodian “liberated” the 17-dunum piece of land which allowed those colonists claiming its ownership to go to court to evict the Palestinian tenants. In 1972, the said Society and the Israel Ha’Knesset Movement filed a legal case at the local court calling for the eviction of Al Ayyoubi. Diab, Issa Saba, Ghosha, and later Al Husseini and Hammad families residing in the buildings.

On May 27^th, 1973 the court refused the case and obligated both organizations to pay the expenses of the lawyers of the plaintiff.

In 1974 the two organizations called for the removal of additional structures built on the “liberated” land.

On November 1^st, 1978 the Central Court refused the appeal of both organizations to evict the Ghousha, Hammad, Al Husseini and Al Ayyoubi families living in the compound. The court stated that “the residents entered the housing units in good faith and only after the Jordanian Government has taken all legal measures that are acknowledged by the Israeli Law.” The decision of the Central Court was ratified by the Israeli Appeals Court as well as by the Israeli High Court.

On June 30^th, 1982 (i.e. six days before the case becomes null and void due to the 15 year Statue of Limitation) the two organizations filed another legal case against the rest of the Palestinian inhabitants calling for their eviction and to pay rent retroactively since 1956. The Court issued its decision to refuse the case as the two organizations have lost their legal right to ownership as the Jordanian Government took the necessary and legal steps in the Sheikh Jarrah housing project. Furthermore, nine of the targeted families were not informed about the case against them in a correct manner.

On the 12^th of July, 1989 an appeal was filed against 14 families living in the Housing. The families were shocked when the court decision was the total opposite and in contradiction of previous ones; The Court saw it fit to declare the Jewish organizations as “owners” of the land and that the Palestinian inhabitants are “protected tenants.” !!! Lawyer Issac Tosia Cohin, advocating on behalf of the Palestinian inhabitants, “confessed” that he came to an agreement with the lawyer of the Jewish organizations that the Palestinians are “protected tenants.” As such, the court ratified the agreement which, basically, declared the land as owned by Jewish entities. The inhabitants refused the agreement and indicated the Cohen does not have the authorization to make such an agreement.

In 1993 the lawyer Husni Abu Hussien was appointed by the Palestinians of Sheikh Jarrah as their lawyer instead of Cohen. In 1994, Mr. Suleiman Darwish Hijazi claimed that he owned the land upon which the housing units were built. He based his claim on ownership papers dating back to the Ottoman Empire. He also said that his grandparents sold the land to Mr. Hanna Bandak in 1939 (10 years before Israel came into being) who registered the land in 1959 in accordance with the relevant rules and regulations. In 1965, Mr. Suleiman Hijazi bought land back from Mr. Bandak in accordance with official papers presented to the court. As such, Mr. Hijazi was granted a Central Court decision of his ownership of the land and that none of the tenants can be evicted until the ownership issue has been finally resolved.

On April 23^rd, 1999 colonists moved into the house of Mrs. Fawziyya Mohammad Al Kurd (a.k.a. Umm Kamel Al Kurd) and took part of it after a central court judge named “Yetzhaq Shamouni” issued a decision to that effect. Palestinian Jerusalemite families have always stressed that this particular judge is unfit to rule in this case as he is a member of one of the colonial movements filing the eviction case.

In 2002, the inhabitants along with Mr. Suleiman Hijazi, filed a legal case in which they called for the annulment of the agreement between the lawyer Tosia Cohen and the other parties in which he made unauthorized relinquish of inhabitants’ rights. The case was never processed.  

In 2005, the Israeli High Court rejected an appeal made by Mr. Hijazi three years earlier to declare his ownership of the land.

At 3:00 AM on the 9^th of November, 2008, Israeli occupation forces surrounded Al Kurd house, evicted Umm Kamel Al Kurd and her husband from the house and overtook it. Mr. Abu Kamel died on the 22^nd of November, 2008 !!!!!

On the 22^nd of February, 2009, the racist authorities in Israel issued a decision to uproot the Palestinian inhabitants from of Al Ghawi family from Al Sheikh Jarrah Housing in a matter of one month (a period ending on the 22^nd of March, 2009).

When that decision was issued, the colonial organizations saw the date set far away in time. As such, they went back to court and tried to persuade the judge to shorten the said period. The judge was “sympathetic” to the request and gave the families only until the 15^th of March to move out voluntarily. Otherwise, force will be used to evict them while their furniture will be impounded at the expense of the family. Moreover, the head of the family, the 85-year old Mr. Abdel Fattah Al Ghawi, will be imprisoned for a period of 6 months.

On the 1^st of April, 2009 the Israeli court turned down an appeal by the lawyer Husni Abu Hussein in which he presented Ottoman documents proving the ownership of the land by Mr. Suleiman Darweish Hijazi. The court claimed that the papers came in late !!!!!.

On April 14^th, 2009 the Israeli Police informed Al Ghawi and Hanoon families that they should vacate their houses in the few coming hours in the aftermath of the rejection of the court of the appeal filed by the lawyer Abu Hussein. Al Hanoon family pointed out the illegality of the procedures as the address written on the papers presented by the Police is not the correct address as the family lives on Abu Jubeir Street, not on Othman Ibn Affan as indicated on the presented papers. Also, the papers called for the eviction of the houses in which the brothers of Maher Hanoon reside in while the court order called for the eviction of only Mr. Maher Hanoon. Moreover, Al Hanoon family does not live on the land parcels demanded by the colonists (Parcels 8, 9, 10, 11). Ever since the eviction notices were circulated amongst the families, strong denunciations of the planned evictions were voiced as numerous delegations (diplomatic and otherwise) flooded the neighborhood in solidarity with the families.

Justice Israeli Style:

Israeli colonists depend on their claim of ownership on an unofficial paper consisting of a copy of a non-existing land ownership deed while Mr. Hijazi presented to the relevant courts original ownership deeds from the Ottoman, British and Jordanian eras !!!!. The said documents include the following:

A document he got from the Ottoman Archives which proved the non-existence of the document used by the colonists in proving their land ownership. A letter from the Turkish Foreign Ministry also pointed the falsehood of the colonists’ claims.

A document in the Turkish Archive of 1935 that indicated that the real estate (and other property) was sold by the Hijazi family to Mr. Hanna Ilyas Al Bandak. Mr. Hijazi managed to get a copy of this document only last year and it was looked after by his lawyer Mr. Abu Hussein in the Israeli Archive.

A document obtained from the Jordanian Land Department dating back to 1961. The document stated that Mr. Hanna Ilyas Al Bandak sold the real estate to Mr. Hijazi and that he paid all of its dues and, as such, has no further claim to the land.

The Goals Behind the Fierce Campaign Against Sheikh Jarrah Housing:

The fierce campaign being waged against Sheikh Jarrah aims at isolating the neighborhood from the City of Jerusalem and to shakeup the Palestinian neighborhoods and breakup its continuity. Also, the targeted 17 dunums will serve to build 200 colonial housing units, according to “Nahalat Shom’oan” Company. The construction is planned to take place after the Palestinian houses in the area are razed to the ground. In case this scenario takes place, a colonial belt will exist starting from the French Hill colony and connecting it to the colony of Giva’at Shapira, the Hebrew University, the planned colony at Karm Al Mufti, Dar Al Mufti, The Shepherd Hotel, Al Iskan Lands, Karm Al Ja’ouni, Ma’o Waqf lands, in addition to Hijazi lands west of Al Sheikh Jarrah Street and to be finally connected with Road 1 in the west.

We, at the Land Research Center, along with all Palestinian associations in Jerusalem, see that the eviction of Al Hanoon and Al Ghawi families from their houses as a grave violation of all treaties and international legitimacy decrees. We, also, consider it as an official and non-official attack on the legitimate rights of Palestinian Jerusalemites.

We deplore such acts and hold the government of the occupation responsible for the resulting aftermath. We, also, call upon the international community to immediately intervene to stop such violation and to provide international protection for the Palestinian people and its property from the ongoing Israeli policy of ethnic cleansing and official terrorism practiced by the occupation government.

Finally, we call upon the Jordanian Government to officially intervene to stop the illegal steps taking by the Israeli courts and official entities to undue the legal steps taken by the Jordanian Government during its rein of power in the West Bank.