GENEVA (11 January 2021) – A UN expert called today on Israel to reverse its eviction orders for Palestinian families living in Occupied East Jerusalem, calling them part of an alarming pattern to change the demography of the city.
Israeli courts have, over the last few months, upheld eviction orders to force 16 Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighbourhoods. They include several extended families and two women raising children alone. In most cases, the Palestinian families have lived in their homes for decades as owners or long-term tenants.
“These evictions are extremely alarming, and appear to be part of a broader pattern of forcing Jerusalemite Palestinian families from their homes to clear the way for more illegal Israeli settlements,” said Michael Lynk, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967. “Time is running short for these orders to be reversed.