Published: 27 September 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
AN ISRAELI COURT HAS ordered the evacuation of 18 Palestinian family members from their home in East Jerusalem's Silwan neighbourhood, ending a decades-long legal battle.
Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Judge Miriam Kaslassy ordered the eviction of the Sumreen family, who have been fighting for 30 years against the Jewish National Fund’s attempts to take ownership of their home, backed by far-right settler group Elad.
The JNF claims that one of the family’s ancestors was an “absentee,” i.e., a civilian who lived in an enemy country, as a result of which his property was confiscated by the state, which sold it to the JNF. This sale failed, however, when it was proved that the so-called absentee had actually lived and died in Jerusalem.
Subsequently, the JNF managed to prove that two of the man’s heirs were absentees, and as such, it indeed owns the structure. Kaslassy accepted the JNF’s claim of ownership on this basis.
FULL STORY After 30 Years of legal battle, Israeli court OKs evacuation of East Jerusalem family (Haaretz)
Photo: The Sumreen family pose for a photo at their East Jerusalem home, March 23, 2018 (Olivier Fitoussi)
