On Tuesday at dawn, the Israeli police entered the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah to remove the tent owned by al-Gawi family, a Palestinian family evicted from their home.The family has resorted to living in a tent situated in front of their former residence, and the 13th time they have had to rebuild their makeshift home, aided by Israelis & internationals, following removal by the police.
Local sources reported that the rebuilding occurred at approximately 4pm, and although it drew the attention of both settlers and the Israeli police, no clashes occurred.
In August 2009, al-Gawi family was evicted and an Israeli family was placed in their stead. Al-Hanoun family has beein evicted in a similar incident, and al-Kurd family has been forced to share it’s home with a family of settlers.
In addition, a further 28 families in the district are also facing eviction from their homes. All homes in question were given to the families by a joint project by the United Nations Relief & Works Agency and the Jordanian government in 1956, following their displacement as refugees following the 1948 war.
East Jerusalem is occupied territory, and as such it is a violation of international law, namely article 49 of the fourth Geneva convention to displace the residents of the territory and situate civilians from the occupying power in their place.
