New Forced Eviction Affects 3 Jerusalemite Families in Silwan

SadaNews - Three Jerusalemite families were forced to evacuate their homes in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood of Silwan, south of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, on Sunday, due to pressures and decisions made by the Israeli occupation authorities in favor of the colonial organization "Ateret Cohenim."

The Jerusalem Governorate explained in a statement that the eviction included Umm Nasser al-Rajbi and her children, as her son Nasser al-Rajbi was forced to evacuate his home with his family. A medical team had to transport her son Awad (29 years old), who is in a full coma, in addition to her daughter (24 years old) who has a disability. The eviction also included her second son Ayed al-Rajbi and his family.

The governorate stated that this step is part of an ongoing policy of forced displacement against the residents of the neighborhood, as the occupation forces have carried out evacuation operations affecting 13 homes in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood since June 2024. There are also real threats to the building of Kaid al-Rajbi, after the occupation authorities gave the families a deadline until 1/5/2026 to implement the eviction decisions, according to the head of the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood committee, Zuhair al-Rajbi.

Al-Rajbi stated that the Israeli Supreme Court is currently reviewing five legal files, awaiting a decision on the appeals submitted by the residents, which include 26 homes inhabited by around 250 individuals, amid claims made by the occupation authorities and colonial organizations to justify the eviction decisions, with increasing fears of expanding the scope of displacement in the neighborhood.

The colonial organization "Ateret Cohenim" relies on claims of ownership of about 5 dunams and 200 square meters of land in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood by Jews since 1881. These claims started in 2015 and have dragged dozens of Palestinian families into a whirlwind of lawsuits in the Israeli courts.

The Batn al-Hawa neighborhood, located about 400 meters from the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and home to around 10,000 Jerusalemites, is one of the most targeted neighborhoods in Silwan, as part of efforts to enhance colonial control over the surroundings of Al-Aqsa Mosque and connect the colonial outposts in Silwan with each other.

Citizens have no option to defend their rights to their homes and prove their ownership except by resorting to the Israeli courts, which are often mock courts, subordinate to the occupation system.