Police evicted six families from the Givat Amal neighborhood in northern Tel Aviv Thursday morning, after they lost a lengthy court battle for their rights to the land. Residents and social activists gathered in the neighborhood in an attempt to trying to stop the eviction. The residents, who the state placed in the working-class neighborhood soon after its founding in 1947, have been leading a struggle to recognize their rights to the property, which were sold to an Israeli businessman in the 1970s. The neighborhood of single-floor homes and shacks sits in the middle of well-to-do North Tel Aviv, between Bavli and the luxury Yoo towers, and is slated to be replaced by the expensive Bavli Park neighborhood. The neighborhood is slated to contain six towers with 1,100 apartments, plus commercial space.

Israeli police officers during the evacuation of the Givat Amal neighborhood in north Tel Aviv (Photo: Activestills)

MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) responded to the evacuation by stating that, “on the same day that he sealed a deal to sell off our natural gas, [gas oligarch Yitzchak] Tshuva is kicking out six families from their homes onto the street. The demands of the residents who were sent to the live in the area by the state in the 1950s are basic and fair.” According to Khenin, he has proposed legislation to ensure that the evacuated families receive alternative housing.