SHEIKH JARRAH, Al-Quds (Dispatches) – Palestinian families facing expulsion from their homes in the occupied East Al-Quds neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah turned down a Zionist regime court’s proposal that would eventually lead to their eviction in favor of Zionist settlers.
“We rejected the ‘proposal’ by the Israeli Supreme Court, which would have rendered us ‘protected tenants’ at the mercy of settler organizations,” the families said in a statement.
“We stand firm in our refusal to compromise on our rights despite the lack of institutional guarantees that would protect our presence as Palestinians in occupied Al-Quds.”
Zionist regime authorities have been attempting to expel four Palestinian families from the East Al-Quds neighborhood for months, despite the Palestinians living in their homes for generations.
The plight of the families has become an issue that has attracted attention across the world, and been a rallying cry for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, besieged Gaza Strip, Al-Quds, and beyond.
In May, the possible evictions triggered protests in Palestinian towns and cities in the occupied territories and contributed to a flare-up in violence in Gaza, where the Zionist regime waged a deadly bombing campaign. Zionist troops killed at least 260 Palestinians, including 66 children.
“This is our decision, which we made long time ago, not today. The people of Sheikh Jarrah have proven their firm positions during the past period,” Muna al-Kurd, a 23-year-old resident of the neighborhood and renowned activist, told Middle East Eye.
Muna and her brother Mohammed al-Kurd have become the public face of the families’ fight against expulsion.
Outside their home, their father, Nabil, said the family would be “sitting here and persisting until our last breath”.
“For this land, we want to stay and endure, and to continue being a lump in the throat of the settlers and their supporters,” he told MEE.
The Palestinians are some of 28 families who are facing similar court-ordered evictions in Sheikh Jarrah, which the Zionist regime occupied in the 1967 Middle East war. Around 500 Palestinians are at threat of expulsion overall.

‘Demolition Up 21%’

As the Zionist regime’s land grab policy in the occupied Palestinian territories continues unabated, a UN body says the occupying regime’s demolition and confiscation of homes in the West Bank and Al-Quds have increased by 21 percent this year compared to the previous year.
“The number of structures demolished or seized, and people displaced, so far in 2021 represents an increase of 21 and 28 percent respectively, compared with the equivalent figures in 2020,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in a report published on Monday.
It added that the Zionist troops “demolished, forced people to demolish, or seized eight Palestinian-owned structures” throughout the West Bank, including Al-Quds in September, the lowest recorded since June 2017.
The demolition and confiscation of the Palestinian structures “resulted in the displacement of two people, and affected the livelihoods or access to services of about 50 others,” it said.
According to the report, 311 structures, or 56 percent of all structures targeted in 2021 in Area C, had been “seized without, or with very short, prior notice, utilizing various military orders, effectively preventing people from objecting in advance.”