Israeli police evict Palestinian families from their houses

Israeli police forcibly evicted Palestinian families from three houses in east Jerusalem after a court ruled that the land they are built on belongs to Jews, and Israeli activists briefly occupied the homes Tuesday. The homes are in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem. 

According to Israel Radio, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the land under the houses belonged to the Sephardic Jewish community but was taken over by Arabs and the United Nations in 1948, when Jordan took control of east Jerusalem during the war that followed Israel's creation. Israel occupied east Jerusalem in the 1967 war. 

Under an earlier Israeli court arrangement, Palestinians who were placed in the houses by U.N. agencies were declared protected tenants and told to pay rent. However, the Supreme Court said that no rent was paid and the original tenants were replaced by others, voiding the earlier agreement, the radio reported. 

After police removed the Palestinian families, Israeli extremists led by former Cabinet minister Benny Elon entered the houses. However, police ordered them to leave and were planning to seal the buildings. (Albawaba.com) 

© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)