The Supreme Court postpones the decision on the ownership of the Shamasneh family house...and the settlers’ lawyer calls to evacuate them
The Israeli Supreme Court postponed on Monday the decision of ownership of the Shamasneh family house located in Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem. The court’s judges suggested during Monday’s session that Shamasneh family would stay in the house until the death of Haj Ayoub Shamasneh and his wife, but the settlers’ lawyer refused this suggestion asking to immediately evacuate them from the house, which ended up postponing the decision to study the case, according to what Mohammad Shamasneh told Wadi Hilweh Information Center. The Supreme Court held a special session on Monday after the appeal submitted by the Shamasneh family lawyer against the evacuation decision issued by the District Court last year which was supposed to be executed at the beginning of March. Shamasneh family lives in the 65-square meter house since 1964 and used to pay the rent to the Jordanian authorities and then on to the occupation authorities which renewed their lease after the occupation and were awarded the “protected tenant” since 1968. In 2011, the administration of“Absentee Property Protector” went to the courtin order to evacuate the Shamasneh family claiming that their lease expired in 2008 and did not state that the family was paying the rent even after that year. Shamasneh family responded that they have been living in the house since 1964 and they are protected in the leasing contracts after the occupation, and submitted the documents to prove that they had paid the rent in 1977 and proofs of their residence since 1972 but could not prove their residence before 1968. Haj Ayoub Shamasneh, his wife, his son and daughter in law along with six grandchildren (oldest is 22 and youngest is 11) all live in the house, which means it contains 10 individuals.
