Israel’s Supreme Court has recently issued an eviction ruling ordering the forced removal of several Palestinian families from their homes in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood of Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem, a decision that allows the properties to be transferred to a settler association, Anadolu reports.
With an increase in similar judicial decisions in recent weeks, families living in the neighborhood say they continue to wait under constant fear of imminent forced eviction and displacement.
Batn al-Hawa, located in the Silwan area of East Jerusalem, has long been among the neighborhoods targeted by Israeli authorities and settler organizations. Thousands of Palestinians live in the area.
Israel has accelerated home demolition and eviction policies in Silwan, a Palestinian neighborhood adjacent to the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem.
In Silwan’s al-Bustan neighborhood, where Israel plans to build a park known as the “King’s Garden,” dozens of homes have been demolished in recent years, while many others are expected to face demolition.
In Batn al-Hawa, which lies above al-Bustan, Palestinian residents are being forcibly removed from their homes, with Israeli settlers moved into the properties.
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Human rights organizations say the decisions taken by Israel in Silwan form part of a broader policy aimed at displacing Palestinian residents from the area.
East Jerusalem is surrounded by a wall of concrete and barbed wire, most of which was built on West Bank land. The wall rises more than 8 meters high and stretches about 202 kilometers, according to the Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Israel claims it built the wall for security reasons, while Palestinians and the United Nations say it is part of a plan to annex Palestinian land.
In 2004, the International Court of Justice in The Hague issued an advisory opinion declaring the wall illegal because it was built on occupied Palestinian territory.
Since Israel launched its war on Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, Palestinians say Israeli forces and illegal settlers have intensified attacks in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, killing more than 1,000 people and injuring hundreds. The violations also included home demolitions, displacement and settlement expansion.
Palestinians say these actions pave the way for Israel to formally annex the occupied West Bank, which would end the possibility of a two-state solution envisioned in UN resolutions.
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