JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel’s Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that four Palestinian families at risk of being evicted from their homes in the contentious eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah will be allowed to stay, for now.
The high court ruled that the families, which includes about 70 people, can remain in their homes until Israel’s Justice Ministry examined the Palestinian’s claim to the property – a process that could take several years.
For the time being, the families will be recognized as protected tenants and will pay a symbolic $62 per month to a trust until the property’s ownership is settled.
For decades, the Jewish Nahalat Shimon organization has sought the family’s eviction. Nahalat Shimon argues that the homes were built on land that was owned by Jews before Israel’s war for independence in 1948 and cites an Israeli law that allows Jews to reclaim property lost in the war. No such right exists for Palestinians who also lost homes in the same conflict.
Jordan seized the neighborhood during Israel’s war for independence and controlled eastern Jerusalem from 1948 to 1967. The Palestinian residents, who were made refugees during the 1948 war, argue that Jordanian authorities offered them their homes in Sheikh Jarrah in exchange for giving up their refugee status.
Israel recaptured the property in the 1967 Six-Day War and transferred all previously-owned Jordanian land to Israeli custody.
Israel’s lower courts have sided with Nahalat Shimon.
The Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday could diffuse a tense and sometimes violent battle over the property. Weekly protests in Sheikh contributed to rising tensions before Israel’s war with Gaza last May, which began after Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem.
Sami Irsheid, an attorney for the Palestinians, said the high court agreed that his clients have a strong case for their ownership of the property and the ruling is a “very positive development.”
Attorneys for Nahalat Shimon did not comment on the decision.
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