A joint Palestinian-Israeli demonstration will be held today, Friday, July 12, at 11:00 a.m. in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, to protest Wednesday’s physical eviction by Israeli police of a Palestinian family from its home there.
The eviction came after the Jerusalem District Court dismissed the family’s appeal and ruled in favor of the racist Elad Association, a settler organization that owns the majority of the building in which the evicted family resided.
“Protest Demonstration following the Eviction of the Siyam Family, Friday, July 12, 11:00am, Silwan”
The police closed off the entire area and forcefully removed the Siyam family, a 53-year-old woman and her four children, from their house, after which Elad began to remove the family’s property.
The Israeli court ruling brought to an end a nearly 30-year legal battle over the property. Elad’s victory also had symbolic value because the people evicted from the apartment and a nearby store are relatives of Jawad Siyam, a social worker and community activist who is considered a leader of Silwan’s Palestinian residents.
The Peace Now movement released a statement saying “the story of Silwan properties is a David and Goliath story… An NGO rich in resources and assets uses the best lawyers to file lengthy, exhausting lawsuits against hard-up Palestinian families, families who have to spend a lot of money to try to protect their home and who must pay lawyers and experts for expensive legal proceedings, at the end of which they are also required to pay court fees. The Custodian of Absentee Property is helping the settlers take control of the homes.”
Related:
- Israel Approves Construction of New Settlement Building in Silwan
- Jerusalem Seizes 60 Dunams in Silwan & Abu Tor for “Gardening”
- Leading Int’l Architects Oppose Cable Car Plan for Jerusalem
- UN Officials Call for Immediate Halt to East Jerusalem Demolitions
- Jerusalem Munic. to Demolish Entire Palestinian Neighborhood
