Published: 17 December 2019
Last updated: 4 March 2024
AN ISRAELI COURT ruled last week that a Palestinian family may stay in its home in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan until a final ruling on the Jewish National Fund’s demand to evacuate it is made.
The Sumreen family case is the latest case that left-wing groups are holding up as evidence of a growing cooperation between the JNF and settler organizations in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
After a 30-year legal battle, the JNF in September was granted ownership of the family’s home by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court, but the family appealed the ruling and asked to remain in the house until the case is settled.
Jerusalem District Court Judge Chana Miriam Lomp rejected the JNF’s claim that the Sumreens shouldn’t be allowed to stay and its argument that the family's appeal is unlikely to be accepted. However, Lomp demanded that the family present a 30,000-shekel (A$12,000) guarantee.
The JNF, backed by settler group Elad, 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 then sold it to the JNF. Magistrate Court Judge Miriam Kaslassy accepted in September the JNF’s claim of ownership on this basis.
FULL STORY The Jewish National Fund Is trying to kick a Palestinian family out of their home. The court stopped it – for now (Haaretz)
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Photo: The Sumreen family pose for a photo at their East Jerusalem home, March 23, 2018 (Olivier Fitoussi)
