Al Kurd family house, located in al Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in the Occupied City of Jerusalem, has been facing seizure threats for a long time. Several houses in the neighborhood have already been captured by Israeli colonists who do not hide their intention of capturing the whole neighborhood and deporting the Arab inhabitants.
Al Kurd house is inhabited by Um Nabil, her son, his wife, and their children; it is surrounded by houses already captured and used by Israeli colonists who seized these house and inhabited them. 7 meters across Al Kurd’s house, a huge chandelier can be found hanging on the Ghawi’s house, which was evicted and handed to the colonists in 2010.
A wide courtyard should be passea in order to get to Um Nabil’s house; this courtyard separates the house from another house that was captured by colonists. The colonists have raised Israeli flags and surveillance cameras all around the area. It is said that a passerby can feel eyes watching him/her whenever he/she gets near.
Um Nabil said in a statement to an LRC observer: ‘we were one of the first families inhabiting al Sheikh Jarrah in 1956. The house was built over two years, 1954 and 1955 by the UNRWA and the Jordanian Construction Agency. It was an uninhabited area with nothing by trees. In the 1970’s, Israeli colonists started visiting the area and gradually colonizing it. In July, 2011, the Court informed as that the hose we live in is owned by colonial societies and that it it is not our right to live in.
Our Attorney, Mr. Sami Rasheed and I headed to the court where he had a lengthy discussion with the DA and the representative of the colonial soxieties and presented proofs of my ownership of the house. They were speaking in Hebrew and I could not understand; however, I could see the hatred in the eyes of the representative of the colonial societies and felt that he was relishing the chance to attack us! Now, we are awaiting the court decision which will be either evacuating our house or start paying rent to the colonists, which, in both cases, granting them the right in the house.However, I will never evacuate my house. They’re plans are clear, they intend to take over the whole neighborhood and they are doing it with hard work, dedication, and patience. The colonists living in the nearby house try to provoke us in extremely disgusting ways; using foul language and sometimes stripping in the courtyard whenever they see us; they try to drag us into clashing with them! ‘
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
The Land Research Center
LRC
