Photo: Stop the Wall - Settlers at home of Mrs Al-Kurd
On 2nd August, the Israeli Supreme Court is scheduled to decide whether it will hear the appeal from four families slated for eviction from Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. The Al-Askafi, Al-Ja’ouni, Al-Qasem and Al-Kurd families appealed to the Supreme Court after they lost their case against forced eviction in the Jerusalem District Court when it ruled in favour of Nahalat Shimon International, the settler organization that claims ownership of the families’ homes without regard for the Palestinians being given these homes by the UN’s agency for refugees (UNRWA) when East Jerusalem was under Jordan’s control.
In total, 28 families, numbering about 550 people, are threatened with eviction following a decade of campaigning in opposition to settler take-over which is all part of the larger plan to Judaize East Jerusalem, an act described as a war crime by the UN.
The Israeli judicial system is known to act in the interests of its settler colonial policy, which is in violation of international law, in this case the Fourth Geneva Convention. Therefore, the four Palestinian families, comprised of six households, expect their appeal to be rejected unless international civil society acts immediately in pressurizing governments to intervene and end support for Israel.
What YOU can do:
- Write to your political representative about the evictions as all must know what Israel is about to do. Ask that pressure is put upon Israel to stop the evictions. There must be consequences for Israeli authorities who continue to violate international law. Find your MP
- Contact your consulate in Palestine/Israel to request that she/he attend the court case on 2nd August to demonstrate solidarity with the Palestinian families and that they make known their respect for international law to be observed.
- The new UK Consul General is Diane Corner. Flood her with requests so she is aware of public support for the Palestinian people, and she must feed this back to the UK government. Email her on jerusalem@fco.gov.uk. Follow her on twitter @Diane_Corner
- Use hashtags #SheikhJarrah, #SaveSheikhJarrah, #Palestineevictions
- For more understanding of what is happening in Sheikh Jarrah and the institutionalized discrimination within East Jerusalem watch ICAHD UK’s webinar on the subject here.