Early Monday morning, December 29, hundreds of riot police evicted eight families from their homes in Givat Amal, a working-class neighborhood in north Tel Aviv. The houses were then leveled to the ground. The incident is the latest stage in a real estate battle that began in the 1980s and which is still not over. Joined by dozens of social justice activists, the evicted residents tried to resist the eviction by barricading themselves in their homes and burning tires at the site.

Israeli police drag away a protester as activists block the Ayalon Highway during the eviction of the 8 families from their homes in the Givat Amal neighborhood, Tel Aviv, December 29, 2014. (Photo: Activestills)

The families, who took up residence in their homes at the beginning of the 1950s, never received legal ownership rights. During the following years, three generations grew up and lived in the neighborhood. The dispute over ownership came to a head when the land was bought by the super-rich tycoon, Yitzhak Tshuva, who decided to build a luxury apartment complex on the site. In September 2014, a number of residents were compensated by Tshuva; however those who lived in the parcels of land bought by Yaki and Moti Kozinhoff, brothers and business partners, claim to have received no compensation before their eviction on Monday.

Present during the eviction was MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) who said: “Eight families should not simply be thrown out of their homes and into the street without any compensation. Responsibility for this tragedy is that of the Construction and Housing Ministry and the Tel Aviv Municipality.”

During the eviction, police arrested two persons.