30 individuals at risk of displacement…A decision to evict the Al-Rajabi family from its building in Silwan
On Monday evening, the Magistrate Court issued a decision to evict the Al-Rajabi family from its building in the neighborhood of Batn Al-Hawa in Silwan, in favor of the Ateret Cohanim settlement association, under the pretext that the land has been owned by Jews since 1881.
Wadi Hilweh Information Center / Silwan stated that the Magistrate Court issued the eviction decision on Monday, after the sons of the late Abd al-Fattah al-Rajabi had struggled to protect their property since 2016, explaining that the court had granted them until April 1st to implement the eviction decision.
The information center added that the Al-Rajabi family's property is a residential building consisting of 3 apartments housing 4 families: Huda Al-Rajabi and her daughter Tahani, and her sons Kayed Al-Rajabi (10 individuals), Wael (9 individuals), and Jabr (9 individuals).
Kayed Al-Rajabi explained that they received the judicial notices from the Ateret Cohanim association several years ago, demanding the land on which their building is built under the pretext of its ownership by the Jews, and therefore the family went to the court to prove their right to the property where they lived since the occupation of Jerusalem, stressing that the family will submit their appeal to the District Court in a new attempt to stay in the building.
Al-Rajabi added that despite the prosecutions, court decisions, and settlers' harassment to the residents of the neighborhood, they are steadfast, adhering to their right to their land and homes.
Zuhair Al-Rajabi, head of the Batn Al-Hawa neighborhood committee, explained that the eviction decisions in the neighborhood have increased recently. Prior to the decision to evacuate the Al-Rajabi family, 4 court decisions were issued against the “Dweik, Shweiki and Al-Rajabi” families, and today they are locked in a struggle in the courts to protect their homes.
They explained that the targeted building of Rajabi family ispart of the plan of "Ateret Cohanim" to control 5200 square meters of the Central Neighborhood, "Batn Al-Hawa" area, claiming that the Jews from Yemen owned the land since 1881, knowing that they are divided into 6 plots of land and their numbers (73-75-88-95-96-97), and the association claims that the Israeli Supreme Court approved the ownership of Jews from Yemen to the land of Batn Al-Hawa.
The center pointed out that the land has about 35 residential buildings, and all of its residents have lived in the neighborhood for decades, after purchasing lands and property from their previous owners with official documents.
