Eviction in Beit Hanina: New site of East Jerusalem settlement

By +972 Magazine April 18, 2012 | Edit

A family in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina has now joined the story of the families in Sheikh Jarrah, evicted from their home with the same legal tactics, in order to make way for a new Jewish settlement.

By Moriel Rothman

Beit Hanina – Wednesday morning, a Palestinian family of 11, the Natche family, was evicted from their home in Beit Hanina (Hebrew report). The legal process behind the eviction was launched by Aryeh King, the head of a group known as “The Israel Lands Fund.” Their claim to the property was based, like in the cases in Sheikh Jarrah, on land deeds held by Jews before 1948.

Last month, King and his group posted a notice looking for “strong men” to carry out this eviction. According to the notice, if the police did not carry out the eviction, “the Jews will do without the police.” In the end, “the Jews” (note: as a religious Jew myself, I am incensed by King’s collective language) did not have to do it themselves, and the police carried out the eviction.

Beit Hanina is a neighborhood in the north of East Jerusalem. Unlike the neighborhoods closer to the Old City, like  Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, Beit Hanina has not been an epicenter of conflict between the settlers/state and the Palestinians. However, King and his Israel Lands Fund are looking to change that. According to a notice in the media in Hebrew, King and his group are planning a series of evictions in Beit Hanina, which they are calling “Nof Shimon,” as well as in Sheikh Jarrah, which they call “Shimon HaTzadik.”

Eviction in Beit Hanina: New site of East Jerusalem settlement
The women of the family evicted from their home, Beit Hanina (Photo: Moriel Rothman)

The eviction itself was carried out early Wednesday morning by the police, who detained or arrested all of the male members of the Natche family, leaving only the mother, who is pregnant, and her daughters to watch as a rented moving company loaded all of the family’s belongings onto a truck and drove off. The settlers are expected to move into the Natche house as early as Wednesday evening.

Moriel Rothman is an American-Israeli currently living in Jerusalem and active with Rabbis for Human Rights and the Solidarity Movement.

End of article module for Members

TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence.    We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies.   This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza.   We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.   Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

Make a Donation