PNN exclusive / Maisa Abu Ghazaleh – There was a glimmer of hope for four families in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah today as their eviction orders were put on hold awaiting Turkish legal papers.
Thousands of Palestinians are being forced out of the city, including the Al Kurd family.
The family is well-known as a symbol of resistance with Um Kamal Al Kurd's address currently a solidarity tent.
The documents that were being used against the Al Kurd, Abdel-Fattah Gaoui, Maher Hahnoun and the Mohammad Abu Hussein families were proved false. Lawyer Hosni Abu Hussein said that real estate ownership is clear, emphasizing that Sheikh Jarrah is a Palestinian neighborhood.
The Israeli Magistrate's Court held a hearing Thursday morning to consider the objection submitted by the lawyer against the decision to evict the families based on claims that their lands belonged to Jewish settlers. Turkish documents are being used to prove the inaccuracy of statements made by the Land Commission.
Lawyer Abu Hussein told PNN today that an Israeli lawyer tried to transfer the case to the judge who had issued the eviction notices to the families, but Abu Hussein refused, noting that Turkish papers will arrive in the coming days.
Accordingly, the judge deferred consideration of the case until further notice in light of the new securities by submitted by counsel Abu Hussein against setter claims of ownership of Sheikh Jarrah.
He explained that there had been a heated argument inside the court with Abu Hussein accusing the Israeli Land Commission of attempting to steal the land by submitting false documents.
Lawyer Haten Abu Ahmed told PNN that Israeli settlers used Turkish Document No. 37 to base their claims of ownership of this East Jerusalem land. But the counsel dealt with Ankara and received a notice from the Turkish Archive that confirmed the settlers are illegally attempting to overtake Sheikh Jarrah. The Israeli lawyer and Land Commission are now threatening to ignore the Turkish papers that are on their way proving the false claim, but Palestinian lawyers are insisting they be honored.
Maher Hanoun is among the Sheikh Jarrah residents. “Thirty years ago we were threatened with eviction but we lived in the hope that we could prove the Israeli fraud and this was done by the lawyer Abu Hussein.”
He talked about years of harassment and fines while his family remained in their home.
Regarding the Um Kamal Al Kurd whose husband died during the second forced eviction from their Sheikh Jarrah home, she called on the Israeli administration to exercise democracy. “They should take seriously the Turkish report and not marginalize us. The Israeli courts gave the Israelis rights and should give us our legitimate rights.”
The Advisor to the Prime Minister on Jerusalem Affairs, Hatem Abdel Qader was in court today where he said, “We refuse to accept that Jerusalemites be evacuated and the city be turned into a settlement.”
