The Israeli occupation notifies a Palestinian family to evacuate their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood

The Israeli occupation forces handed the Palestinian "Salihiya" family in "Sheikh Jarrah" a written notice to vacate two homes they own and seize a plot of land owned by the family as well. The family explained that the two threatened homes house 12 people, most of them children.

On Monday, the Israeli occupation authorities notified a Palestinian family to evacuate their homes in the "Sheikh Jarrah" neighborhood in the center of the occupied city of Jerusalem.

The official Palestinian News Agency reported that the Israeli authorities handed the Palestinian "Salhia" family in "Sheikh Jarrah" a written notification to vacate two homes they own and to seize a plot of land owned by the family as well.

She added, "Israel has given the Palestinian family until January 25 next, to implement the decision, under the pretext of public interest and the establishment of schools on them."

The agency quoted a member of the two houses threatened with eviction as saying: The land area is 6 dunams (one dunam equals 1,000 square metres), my father bought it in 1967.

He continued, "Two years ago, a decision was issued to seize the land under the pretext of establishing public utilities, knowing that two homes for my family were built on them, and they are also threatened with eviction.

He explained, "The two threatened houses house 12 people, most of them children."

Dozens of Palestinian families in Jerusalem, especially in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, face eviction warnings from the homes they have resided in for decades in favor of settlers.

The Palestinians say that Israel is targeting these families in Jerusalem as part of its moves to change the demographic structure in the occupied city and obliterate their Palestinian identity.

The Palestinians adhere to East Jerusalem as the capital of their hoped-for state, based on the international community’s resolutions that do not recognize Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967 or its annexation in 1981.