Proposed evictions of Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem in favor of Jewish settlers led to international outcry and is a significant factor contributing to the escalation of tensions in May 2021, culminating in the Al-Aqsa Mosque Raid and the subsequent conflict

  • Claim

The Sheikh Jarrah evictions controversy centers around a complex legal battle over property rights in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. This area, located in East Jerusalem, has been a focal point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli law allows Jews to reclaim properties in East Jerusalem that were owned by Jews before 1948. Conversely, Palestinian families living in these properties, many of whom had been refugees from other parts of what became Israel in 1948, claimed they were the legal inhabitants. The possibility of evicting Palestinian families in favor of Jewish settlers led to international outcry and was cited as a significant factor contributing to the escalation of tensions in May 2021, culminating in the Al-Aqsa Mosque Raid and the subsequent conflict.


Name

Proposed evictions of Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem in favor of Jewish settlers led to international outcry and is a significant factor contributing to the escalation of tensions in May 2021, culminating in the Al-Aqsa Mosque Raid and the subsequent conflict

Description

The proposed evictions in Sheikh Jarrah refer to the legal disputes over the ownership of homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, where several Palestinian families faced eviction orders in favor of Israeli settlers, sparking international attention and contributing to tensions in the region.

Types

Claim

Supporting arguments

Israeli courts have favored settler claims, citing historical Jewish ownership, and have facilitated evictions of Palestinians, as seen in the Batan al-Hawa case in Silwan, further complicating the situation
These Palestinian families had an agreement with the Jordanian government to receive land deeds, making them official owners, in exchange for renouncing their refugee status, a deal disrupted by the 1967 Middle East war
Sheikh Jarrah was once an orchard and saw the migration of wealthy Palestinian families in the early 20th century, seeking to escape the congested Old City
Post-1967, Israeli settler groups claimed the land, leading to numerous lawsuits and evictions of Palestinian families, intensifying the conflict in Sheikh Jarrah​
In 1956, 28 Palestinian families, part of the 750,000 displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, settled in Sheikh Jarrah with houses built by Jordan and the approval of UNRWA

Tags

Causal factor to 2021 Al-Aqsa Mosque Raid