Jerusalem Under Barak - Part 2
 
January 2001
 
(This report is published by the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment.  It is a non-governmental organization dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy.  It is affiliate to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Fédération Internationale des Ligues de Droits de l’Homme (FIDH), World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and Member of the Euro- Mediterranean Human Rights Network).

This is the second Brief concerning violations of public international law that occurred during Barak’s tenure as Prime Minister of the State of Israel. This second Brief looks at settler activity within Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.

SETTLER ACTIVITY WITHIN PALESTINIAN COMMUNITIES
 
As settlement activities in general have continued under Barak, the government continued to support the settlement of Jews in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. The Israeli authorities approved a settlement plan for Abu Dis and gave additional building permits for the Jewish settlement in Ras al-Amud. Settlers in the Old City also received permits to extend and renovate houses and new families have moved in. Moreover, the Israeli authorities provide the security guards for the settlers in these so-called “new Jewish neighborhoods”. It is estimated that the government spends 20 million NIS per annum on the perceived security needs of the Jewish families living in Palestinian neighborhoods.[1] The neighborhoods which have the status of “new Jewish neighborhood” are the Jewish enclaves in Silwan, Ras al-Amud, Beit Orot, Sheikh Jarrah and the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. The Israeli Housing Ministry pays for the security measures aimed at protecting the Jewish settlers in these “neighborhoods.”

Contrary to Jews, who claim property in East Jerusalem, Palestinians cannot claim their property in West Jerusalem according to Israeli law, although Palestinians own an estimated 70% of what now constitutes West Jerusalem.[2] Ha’aretz-correspondent Danny Rubenstein commented on the subject: “Against the background of the peace process with the Palestinians, these are actions that the Barak government should be preventing. Surely it is absurd to demand the meagre amount of Jewish property that was located across the Israeli-Jordanian border after 1948 while, at the same time, hundreds of thousands of Arabs are being denied the right to claim properties in Israel.”[3]

Silwan
 
Fourteen Jewish families are living in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, south of the Old City, in houses expropriated from Palestinians. The settler group Elad (acronym in Hebrew meaning “towards the city of David”) is active in seizing houses owned by Palestinians in the neighborhood.

In August 1999, the Israeli High Court of Justice decided in favor of the Abassi family of Silwan, whose house had been seized by settlers from Elad. In its decision, the High Court confirmed the decision of the Jerusalem District Court of 1996, which rejected the settlers’ claims that the house was ‘absentee property’ and revoked a deal between the Custodian for Absentee Property and the Israeli Development Authority. In 1991, settlers came to the Abbasi house in the middle of the night under police protection and took over nine of the 12 apartments in the building. They have been living in the building ever since. The Abbasi family took the case to court, represented by lawyer Avigdor Feldman, who demanded the settlers’ evacuation from the house. The settlers had obtained the house through the procedure described in the Klugman Committee report of 1992[4]: The Custodian for Absentee Property declared the property ‘absentee property’ on the basis of a fraudulent affidavit provided by a settlers’ organization and transferred the property to the Israeli Development Authority. The Development Authority transferred it to Amidar (a governmental housing company), which rented it to Elad. Elad appealed the court decision of 1996, but in 1999, the High Court supported the District court’s decision and rejected the appeal. However, the Israeli authorities have not taken any measures against the settlers and they are still living in the house. 

The Old City

Most of the settlement activities in the Old City are carried out by the Ateret Cohanim settlement organization. They have already taken over between 35 to 40 buildings in the Christian and Muslim Quarters of the Old City, in many cases using fraudulent means to dispossess Palestinian tenants and owners. Sixty-three families have so far settled in houses that have been acquired by the organization.[5]

On 27 January 2000, settlers attempted to take over a workshop in the Aqabat as-Saraya street in the Muslim Quarter. The settlers had already seized the space above the shop and from there they drilled a hole in the ceiling of the shop and descended on a rope ladder. Neighbors notified Muhammad az-Zayn, the workshop keeper, and they hurried to the shop in order to drive the settlers out. The settlers had already thrown az-Zayn’s belongings on the street and they had put two beds and a motorcycle in the shop. When the police arrived, they ordered az-Zayn and the settlers to the police station in Jaffa Gate for questioning. The settlers were not arrested, but had to sign a declaration that they would not try to enter the workshop again. The police ordered the closure of the shop until matters had been decided in a court of law.

One of the settlement projects of Ateret Cohanim which has expanded during the past year or so is Beit Yuri in the Bab Huta neighborhood of the Muslim Quarter. In 1999, two Jewish families moved into the house, which was purchased by the settlement organization in 1985. In July 2000, two more families moved into the house. Currently, there are around 150 houses in the Old City where the ownership is being contested by the various settler organizations.[6]

Sheikh Jarrah

The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem is another site of Jewish settlement activity. The neighborhood is known to the settlers as “Shimon Hatzadik” or “Simon the Just”. During his last month in office, Meir Porush, who was deputy Minister for Housing in the Netanyahu government gave “Shimon Hatzadik” the “new Jewish neighborhood status”, which meant that the Housing Ministry pays 400,000 NIS annually for private security services for the Jewish residents of the “neighbourhood”.[7] In July 1999, nine apartments were inhabited by Jews in Sheikh Jarrah.[8] The  “Zion Settlers” and “Kedem Jerusalem” organizations are now located in the neighborhood. “Zion Settlers” works on the acquisition of Palestinian property in Sheikh Jarrah and Kedem Jerusalem organizes tours in Jerusalem.

On 19 November 1999, a group of Jewish settlers came to the house of Rifqa Abdallah al-Kurd in Sheikh Jarrah in an attempt to force her to renounce ownership of her house. The settlers ordered her to sign papers to that effect but she refused. Then she noticed that there was a large group of settlers in the garden and in a part of the house that was under construction. The settlers threw her to the ground. The police ordered the annex under construction closed because the settlers claim ownership of the house and therefore claim that the al-Kurds are not allowed to build. UNRWA leased the land from the Jordanian government in 1956 for 99 years and built 28 houses for 1948 refugees. The al-Kurd family has been living in the house since 1956. Since the 1970s Jewish organizations have claimed the land and have been to court on numerous occasions in an attempt to “retrieve” the property. The latest claim on the land was asserted in 1998. On 18 September 2000, the court decided that the annex under construction has to stay closed until a further decision is taken.

In April 2000, a conflict erupted concerning the land owned by the Abu Jibna family in Sheikh Jarrah. On 24 April, a group of settlers led by Knesset member Benny Elon entered the plot owned by the Abu Jibna family under the protection of the Israeli police, but Palestinian protesters stopped them. The Israelis claim that Ramban (Rabbi Nahmanides) used to pray in the cave situated on the plot and therefore it is a Jewish holy site and Jews should have the right to pray there. The ownership of the Abu Jibna family goes back more then 400 years and they have documents attesting to this effect. Palestinians deny it is a Jewish holy site. When a quarrel broke out between Elon and Palestinian Legislative Council member Hathem Abd al-Qader, the police removed the Israeli protesters. A few days later, the Israeli protestors led by Elon, came back with a court order permitting them to pray in the cave. At the same time, Palestinian demonstrators, led by Faisal Husseini and Ahmad Tibi came with a court order that allowed the Abu Jibna family to keep the fence that is around the plot. Violent clashes erupted when the Israeli demonstrators tried to make a hole in the fence. Later that day clashes occurred again when the court ordered the police to make a hole in the fence to allow Jews to pray. The Abu Jibna family appealed against the court decision, but on 22 May, the court decided that the cave is a Jewish holy site and that the owners of the land must give Jewish worshippers access to the site. The court called on the family to remove the fences and cancelled a plan to construct a parking lot on the land.

Settler Assault On Palestinians

The presence of Jewish settlers in Palestinian neighborhoods often leads to abuse and physical assault on Arab residents. In the Old City, many Palestinian residents fall victim to assaults perpetrated by settlers. Because the Israeli police often fail to investigate these cases in a thorough manner, most settlers are not brought before a court of law.[9] The statements below are illustrative of such cases.

On 3 April 2000, the house of ‘Isam Abu Ta’a in Sheikh Jarrah was set on fire, allegedly by settlers. Abu Ta’a had left the house with his wife and eight children and when they came back they found their house in flames. Abu Ta’a told LAW that eyewitnesses had seen three Israelis coming from the house just before the fire broke out. The fire caused serious damage to the house and most of the furniture was destroyed. Abu Ta’a said to LAW: “Normally we never leave the house empty, we always take turns guarding the house. But this time the children have their spring holidays so we went out together.” For many years the family has been the victim of settlers trying to chase them away from the house. According to Abu Ta’a, the family suffers from daily abuse from the settlers; they often throw stones at the house and once they poisoned one of Abu Ta’a’s dogs. The Israeli police, who normally accompany the fire brigade, did not come to the site to investigate the arson. Even after Abu Ta’a went to the police station to report the arson, an investigation was not carried out. Most of the land owned by the family was confiscated by Israel. The house is now surrounded by a number of Israeli institutions that have been built on expropriated land.

On 27 May 2000, two settlers assaulted Ruhayfa Salaymeh while she was visiting her 85-year old mother Rifqa in the ‘Aqabat as-Saraya area in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. The mother lives in a room in a building that has been taken over by settlers. The family used to inhabit three rooms in the building, but when the settlers took over the building 20 years ago, the mother was left with only one of the rooms. According to Ruhayfa’s sister Zayn, in past incidents settlers had beaten Rifqa’s grandchildren. She also stated that settlers routinely empty their garbage in her mother’s room. In one incident where a scuffle erupted between Ruhayfa and the settlers, she reported the incident to the police. The police told her that the only way to deal with the situation was to move her mother out of the apartment.

On 9 August 2000, settlers under the protection of the Israeli security forces assaulted the Qara’in family of Silwan. Nawal Qara’in stated in her affidavit to LAW: “On 9 August, a middle-aged settler urinated over the wall surrounding our house. My son Tha’er saw him, so he rebuked him and asked him to go away. The settler answered that he was Jewish and only Arabs should go away. Later, he came back with at least 30 men who tried to break the front door.” According to Qara’in, the settlers beat her sons Tha’er and Yazan. When the police arrived they also beat Tha’er and his father. As the beating continued, the settlers gathered in a corner and started shouting “death to Arabs”. Rabi’a Qara’in sustained a fracture in her arm when she tried to prevent one of the police officers from hitting her son Muhammad in the head with a baton. Tha’er Qara’in sustained a fracture in his hand. Three other family members were injured with cuts and bruises.

On 24 August 2000, Mustafa Ma’bad (29) was beaten up and seriously injured by settlers in the Old City. Ma’bad was on his way to his parents’ house in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City when a yeshiva student blocked his way. When Ma’bad insisted on continuing his way, the settler attacked him with a metal rod. Ma’bad succeeded in wresting the rod from the attacker, but then another yeshiva student arrived at the scene and sprayed tear gas at Ma’bad. He lost balance and dropped the rod. Then the two used it to beat him, mainly on the head. The two settlers fled and came back with a group of about ten yeshiva students and continued to hit Ma’bad, who lost consciousness. Ma’bad was taken to hospital, where he had to stay for a week. Later he had to spend another week in hospital for an operation on his nose, which was broken during the beating. The police have failed to pursue a vigorous case against the alleged assailants.

Israel’s obligation under public international law

As Israel is an occupying power in East Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities have an obligation to the city’s inhabitants to ensure their personal welfare and that of their property. Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention provides elementary safeguards for a civilian population that is under occupation. It stipulates that civilians are entitled in all circumstances to respect for their person and that at all times they shall be humanely treated, and shall be protected especially against all acts of violence and threats thereof and against insults and public curiosity. Israel’s responsibility for the protection of East Jerusalem’s Palestinian residents against assaults and other forms of violence from Israeli citizens is thus clear.

The eviction of Palestinian residents from their homes and replacing them with Israeli Jewish citizens is an infraction of article 49 of the fourth Geneva Convention which prohibits the occupying power from transferring its citizens to occupied territory; and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The UN Committee which monitors the implementation of the Covenant in its meeting in May 1997 ruled that forced evictions are incompatible with the Covenant and that every individual has the right to security of tenure.

Conclusion

Though the settling of Israeli Jews in Palestinian neighborhoods is spearheaded by groups which have an affinity with Israel’s right wing parties and are the natural allies of the Likud party, as was illustrated above, Labor governments, in this case Barak’s, did precious little to reverse the trend or return property to their Palestinian owners. The Klugman committee, which looked into Jewish acquisition of Palestinian property in East Jerusalem in August and September of 1992 found wholesale fraud in the acquisition process. The Committee also implicated the Likud government of Yitzhak Shamir or rather elements within it with complicity in the fraud. The then Rabin government failed to act on the findings despite the illicit use of State funds to acquire, renovate and guard the properties.