UN Human Rights Office Urges Israel to End Discriminatory Forced Evictions of Palestinians
Occupied Jerusalem, MINA – The forced eviction of an elderly Palestinian couple today from the family home they have lived in since 1953 shines a bright light on discriminatory forced evictions and the threat of forcible transfer that hangs over more than a thousand Palestinians in Occupied East Jerusalem, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the State of Palestine (OHCHR) said today.
“Palestinian Gheith-Sub Laban family was forcibly evicted from their home by Israeli police in the Old City of Jerusalem early this morning. Twelve Israeli activists, seven women and five men, protesting the eviction were arrested. Concerted efforts to evict Palestinians from their homes in Occupied East Jerusalem may amount to forcible transfer. Forcible transfer is a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and a war crime,” said Ajith Sunghay, Head of Office of OHCHR OPT, WAFA reported.
The eviction followed a decision by the Israeli supreme court that the protected tenancy of Nora Gheith (68) and Mustafa Sub Laban (72), would be terminated making way for the property to be seized by Galicia Trust, a settler organization that has been seeking to evict the Gheith-Sub Laban family since 2010. International humanitarian law prohibits Israel from imposing its own laws in occupied territory, including East Jerusalem, which includes the use of Israeli laws to evict Palestinians from their homes. Furthermore, the laws in themselves are inherently discriminatory against Palestinians in flagrant violation of Israel’s international human rights obligations.
“This eviction follows decisions made by Israel’s courts applying discriminatory laws that violate international human rights and humanitarian law. Israel must repeal these laws that have facilitated and allowed settler organizations to target Palestinians such as Nora Gheith and Mustafa Sub Laban and end the practice of forced evictions targeted at Palestinians in East Jerusalem”, said Ajith Sunghay.
The forced eviction of the Gheith-Sub Laban family is part of a wider pattern of evictions of Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem. For example, the Salem family from the Um Haroun portion of Sheikh Jarrah were served a demolition order in mid-March 2023. The Shehadeh family from Batan al-Hawa, Silwan, are trying to appeal to the Supreme Court an order evicting them from their home, issued at the beginning of March. And the Dajani, Daoud, and Hammad families from the Kerem al Jaouni section of Sheikh Jarrah are all engaged in ongoing legal battles to prevent their forced eviction. These families are among some 150 Palestinian families – totaling around 1000 people – across East Jerusalem and its surrounding Palestinian neighborhoods who are living under the threat of eviction and forcible transfer due to discriminatory laws and state collusion with settler groups.
Not only do these acts of forced eviction constitute a gross violation of human rights; they also form part of an overarching oppressive environment of fear and insecurity that these families have to live under for months, years, and decades. The Gheith-Sub Laban family has been embroiled in a 45-year legal battle against persistent attempts by the Israeli State and settler groups to displace them and take over their home for Jewish settlement. Moreover, these forced evictions contribute to the forcible transfer of Palestinians, altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Occupied East Jerusalem.
The UN Human Rights Office in the OPT reiterated that international law requires Israel to end all forced evictions and forcible transfers. The UN Human Rights Office in the OPT urged the Israeli Government to end all discriminatory evictions of Palestinians in Occupied East Jerusalem and to urgently provide an effective remedy to the Gheith-Sub Laban family for the human rights violations they suffered today.(T/R3/RE1)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
