Jerusalem — Residents of Sheikh Jarrah are being forcibly displaced by the Israeli occupation, yet again

The Jerusalem municipality has approved plans to construct a huge 11 storey ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious school on a 5000 square metres of land in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, in occupied East Jerusalem. The development will be at the heart of daily life for Palestinians, as the project — which includes classrooms, dormitories, and housing for hundreds of Jewish students — will be directly opposite a neighbourhood mosque along a main Palestinian road.

In Jerusalem residents of Sheikh Jarrah are being forcibly displaced by the Israeli occupation — yet again

Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah are descendants of refugees from the Nakba of 1948, which marked the formation of ‘Israel’. Zionist militias forcibly displaced and expelled an estimated 750,000 Palestinians from their homes. Over 500 villages were destroyed and depopulated, turning most of the Palestinian population into refugees.

In 1956, 28 families resettled in Sheik Jarrah, at the time of the Jordanian administration. But since “Israel” occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, illegal settlers have claimed the land belongs to them. Along with Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah has become one of the most prominent locations of land theft and forced displacement in occupied East Jerusalem, and residents have endured decades of legal disputes, eviction orders and forced displacement.

Apartheid means there is one law for Jews and another for Palestinians

llegal settler organisations are able to forcibly evict Palestinians from their homes, due to an Israeli occupation law which allows Jews to reclaim homes in East Jerusalem which they claim-often with fake evidence — or no evidence at all — belonged to Jews before 1948. But the apartheid system which the occupation operates, does not allow an equivalent legal pathway for Palestinians to reclaim their homes or land lost during the Nakba, inside what is now West Jerusalem.

In an attempt to give a legal facade to its property theft and forced displacement, the settlers put their ownership claims on Palestinian property to the occupation’s courts. These courts, unsurprisingly, rule in favour of the illegal settlers every time.

Today, dozens of families — numbering in their hundreds — continue to face ongoing eviction threats, as cases move through the courts. Many more are left in a state of uncertainty, with the ever present possibility of losing their homes, while settlement expansion and administrative measures continue to reshape Sheikh Jarrah.

Forced displacement and home demolitions of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah is all part of a broader trend by the Israeli occupation — one of land dispossession and settlement expansion in occupied East Jerusalem in specific, and the West Bank in general. It is a war crime. The aim is to uproot Palestinians from the heart of Jerusalem and replace them with a Jewish majority. This Judaisation of East Jerusalem aims to enhance its Jewish character, while erasing its Palestinian Muslim and Christian history, culture and future.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that “Israel’s” occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, is unlawful, along with the associated settlement regime, annexation and use of any natural resources.

Featured image via the Canary