A Palestinian family was evicted from their home in occupied East Jerusalem this morning after an Israeli court rejected the family’s claim that the land they were living on was different to the land claimed by Israeli settlers as having belonged to Jews before the division of Jerusalem into Israeli and Jordanian-controlled parts.

But the eviction was not expected to be carried out until after the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha, which ended yesterday.

The family had been planning to pursue other legal means to prevent the eviction and activist Eyal Raz, who is working with them, said they had obtained an order that prevented them from

being evicted for seven days while they took the issue to the court.

“What kind of country is this?” shouted 84-year-old Ayoub Shamasna, who is unable to walk and was carried out of the home on a chair.

Israeli police escorted a group of settlers into the house as they removed the Shamasna family, some of whom tried to re-enter the building.

The Shamasna family had been living in the house since 1964 but lost their fight to remain there in 2013 when the Israeli High Court rejected their appeals.

According to anti-settlement non-governmental organisation Peace Now, Israel announced four new settlements in the Sheikh Jarrah area of East Jerusalem in July.

All settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank are considered illegal under international law.

Source: Quds Press International News Agency
Translated by: Middle East Monitor
In collaboration with the Palestinian Media Forum