Israeli Court Upholds Expulsion of Palestinian Rajabi Family from Silwan

Days of Palestine

24-06-2025

DayofPal– An Israeli court has upheld the forced expulsion of the Rajabi family from their home in the Batn Al-Hawa neighborhood of Silwan, located just south of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
The decision, issued Sunday by the Central Court, marks the end of a years-long legal battle and the final rejection of the family's appeals against eviction efforts spearheaded by the right-wing settler organization Ateret Cohanim.
The court ruled in favor of Ateret Cohanim's claim that the land in question once belonged to Yemeni Jews who settled in the area in 1881, decades before the founding of the State of Israel.
The ruling affirms a previous decision by the Israeli Supreme Court, which last year upheld the legitimacy of the settler group's claim and authorized the eviction of the Rajabi family.
The property at the center of the dispute comprises a three-story building housing 16 people across three apartments. The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, a Palestinian media group based in Silwan, confirmed the court's ruling and warned of its broader implications for the neighborhood.
In a statement, the Jerusalem Governorate condemned the expulsion as part of 'a systematic policy of ethnic cleansing' aimed at altering the demographic and cultural character of East Jerusalem.
Human rights organizations and Palestinian officials say the ruling is emblematic of Israel's broader strategy to Judaize Silwan and surrounding areas through a combination of legal action, state-backed settlement activity, and intensified enforcement measures.
The Rajabi family is one of dozens targeted by Ateret Cohanim, which launched a wave of lawsuits in 2015 seeking the removal of Palestinian residents from Batn Al-Hawa.
The group claims ownership of the land based on 19th-century trust documents allegedly linking the properties to Jewish residents from Yemen.
According to the Batn Al-Hawa neighborhood committee, more than 80 Palestinian families in the area, home to over 10,000 resident, are currently facing expulsion threats.
Zohair Rajabi, head of the committee and a member of the displaced family, accused the Israeli judiciary of acting in concert with settler groups.
'This is not justice,' Rajabi said following the court's decision. 'The courts are working in full coordination with settler organizations to expel us from our homes and erase our history.'
In recent months, Israeli courts have issued additional expulsion orders targeting other Palestinian families in Batn Al-Hawa, including the Odeh and Shweiki households, under similar legal arguments advanced by settler entities.
Silwan, which spans approximately 5,640 dunams, is home to around 60,000 Palestinians. An estimated 3,000 Israeli settlers now reside in the neighborhood, many of whom are affiliated with groups like Ateret Cohanim and Elad, an influential settler organization founded in 1986 by former Israeli army officer David Be'eri.
Backed by state institutions and aided by favorable court rulings, Elad has seized at least 87 buildings in Silwan over the past decade.
Zohair Rajabi warned that an additional 87 families, representing between 700 and 800 people, remain under immediate threat of displacement.
'This is a coordinated and deliberate campaign to empty Jerusalem of its Palestinian residents,' he said.
The escalation of evictions has been accompanied by an increase in demolitions, arrests, and legal pressure on Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem.
Human rights advocates have called for international intervention, arguing that the policy violates international law and undermines any prospects for a future political resolution in the city.
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