Name of owner: Mr. Abdul Razaq Al alami
Location: Nablus road, opposite the American consulate, about 200 meters north of Damascus Gate. An aerial photograph showing part of the occupied Arab Jerusalem and location of the seized house showing part of the occupied Arab Jerusalem and location of the seized house
Details of seizure attack
In a celebratory and provocative manner, and the time the Aqaba peace summit was being held with the attendance of the American president George Bush, the Israeli prime minister Areil Sharon, the Palestinian prime minister Mohamud Abbas and king Abdallah, the second, of Jordan, a group of extremist Jewish colonists stormed the house of Mr. Abdull Razaq Al alami in Arab occupied Jerusalem and took it by force.
The group was led by two ministers from the Israeli right wing National Unity Party – Moledit – the minister of Communications, Avigore Fildman, and the minister of Tourism, Beni Ayalon. The seizure took place on Wednesday, June 4th , at 9 AM, under full protection and supervision of Israeli police, border guards and special task forces in official uniform. See Photo 1
An Israeli police officer guarding the seized house
in Nablus road, Jerusalem
The first Israeli attempt to seize the house goes back to 1997 when a group of Israeli colonists disclosed ownership of the house by claiming that they had bought it from one of the inheritors whose name was Mujeer. The Jewish group, also, claimed that the seller fled to Europe and that the house was bought by the American Jewish Millionaire, Miskovetch. Following that, the neighboring family of Mr. Subhi Rashid who shares half of the building levied a complaint to the Israeli magistrates court through lawyer Mohammed Dahla showing proofs of their ownership of half of the house to prevent the Jewish racist groups from entering it. The court ordered that the Palestinian family should stay in the part it owned.
The seized house transferred to headquarter:-
In a strong defiance of the peace talks in Aqaba, the leadership of Molidet party, which calls for the dismissal of Palestinians from all the occupied territories, announced that the house would be used as the party' headquarters in Jerusalem. This measure represents a clear defiance of the ongoing peace talks and a clear violation of all international and humanitarian agreements and conventions, especially, the Fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits the occupying power from making any amendments on the ground or transferring its citizens to the occupied territories.
The seizure of the house came in harmony with the Israeli government's expansionist and extremist policy led by Sharon himself. This latest aggression should remind us of what Sharon had done during the Wey River peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis in 1998 when he called upon Israeli colonists 'to occupy hill tops and establish settlements'.
Previous seizures
The company owned by the American Jewish millionaire, Miskovetch, claimed that it bought the house from its owners. Previously, the same company had carried out similar seizures for Palestinian properties in Jerusalem, including the seizure of the land of Mr. Ahamd Hassan Al- Ghol in Ras Al amud quarters east of the old city three years ago. Following this, the Israeli occupation authorities built a settlement on the confiscated land amidst highly populated Palestinian neighborhood which, consequently, will increase tension and unrest in the area.
On the other hand, the minister of Tourism in Sharon's government, Beni Ayalon, had led similar attacks against Palestinian houses and properties in Arab Jerusalem without any deterrence on the part of the Israeli government. The former attack took place on April 27th, 2003, against a house owned by a Palestinian family in Sheik Jarrah. Such attempts by Jewish settlers and officials have been carried out with the aim of creating new realities on the ground which may affect, in their opinion, the final status negotiation of Jerusalem for the benefit of the Israeli side.
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
