Eviction orders against the Shweiki and Odeh families in Silwan
The Israeli occupation authorities delivered eviction orders to the Shweiki and Odeh families from their homes in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood in the town of Silwan, in favor of settler associations. The families were given 30 days to implement the order.
Zuhair al-Rajabi, head of the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood committee in Silwan, explained that the occupation authorities had issued an eviction order against the two families in 2020 through the Supreme Court, but it was frozen by the Attorney General. He added that the case was suddenly transferred to an extremist judge in the Supreme Court, who issued a decision to evict the Shweiki and Odeh families without hearing the relevant deliberations. He had previously issued similar orders against the Shehadeh and Ghaith families.
Al-Rajabi indicated that the deadline for implementing the eviction order expires after 30 days, after which the files will be transferred to the “Execution and Implementation Department” if the families fail to implement the order.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem explained that the properties of the Shweiki and Odeh families fall within the "Ateret Cohanim" plan, which aims to seize an area of approximately 5200 square meters in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood in Silwan, claiming that it was owned by Jews from Yemen dating back to 1881.
The "Ateret Cohanim" association claims that the Israeli Supreme Court had approved the ownership of the Batn al-Hawa land by Jews from Yemen. Since September 2015, the families in the neighborhood have begun receiving court orders demanding that they vacate the land on which their homes are built. In 2001, the association obtained the right to manage the properties of the Jewish association that claims ownership.
Indeed, the "Ateret Cohanim" association was able to seize a number of homes in the neighborhood, including buildings and homes belonging to the Shehadeh, Ghaith, and Abu Nab families.
