VZCZCXRO4358
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1344/01 2161422
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041422Z AUG 09
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5641
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001344 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE AND IPA. NSC FOR SHAPIRO/KUMAR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PTER IS KPAL KWBG
SUBJECT: PALESTINIANS, INTERNATIONALS PROTEST EVICTIONS IN 
SHAYKH JARRAH 
 
REF: A. JERUSALEM 1256 
     ¶B. JERUSALEM 628 
     ¶C. JERUSALEM 501 
     ¶D. JERUSALEM 161 
     ¶E. 08 JERUSALEM 2011 
     ¶F. 08 JERUSALEM 1509 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  The GoI evicted two Palestinian families 
from their homes in East Jerusalem's Shaykh Jarrah 
neighborhood on August 2, after Israeli courts awarded 
ownership of the properties to two Israeli organizations, 
Nakhalat Shimon International (NSI) and the Sephardic 
Community Committee (SCC).  The homes were immediately turned 
over to settlers.  These properties are among several in 
Shaykh Jarrah where ownership disputes have gone to the 
courts.  NSI has submitted plans to construct 200 residential 
units in Shaykh Jarrah, but first must obtain title to all 
the properties and demolish the existing structures.  The 
British Consulate General, the EU, and UN Middle East Envoy 
Robert Serry issued statements condemning the evictions, and 
the PA has publicly suggested it may raise the issue in the 
UNSC.  End Summary. 
 
TWO EXTENDED FAMILIES EVICTED 
AFTER LENGTHY COURT BATTLE 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Israeli Ministry of Justice's Office for the 
Execution of Verdicts evicted the Hanun and Ghawi families 
from their homes in East Jerusalem's Shaykh Jarrah 
neighborhood on August 2.  These extended families comprise a 
total of 53 people, among them 20 children.  According to 
Maher Hanun, head of the Hanun household, dozens of police 
arrived around 5:30 a.m. and closed the streets where the 
Hanuns and Ghawis lived.  Police broke down doors to the 
houses and forced the families out.  Sahar Vardi of the 
Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions (ICAHD) reported 
that a member of the Ghawi family sustained a leg injury, and 
another a head injury, due to rough handling by the police. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) At about 8:30 a.m., the police escorted roughly 20 
new residents into the Hanun house -- including men, women, 
and children -- and began repairing the doors.  Ofer Lemor, 
head of the Execution of Verdicts team conducting the 
evictions, told PolOff August 2 that the locks would be 
changed and the keys turned over to the Israeli owners 
immediately, despite requests by Palestinians and by Israeli 
NGOs to keep the properties vacant pending further action by 
the Palestinians' lawyers.  Lemor said police would stay in 
the area for several days, to deal with anticipated 
demonstrations.  Vardi said that 200-300 protesters 
demonstrated in the area August 2, and approximately 40 
stayed through August 3.  Police arrested several 
demonstrators, including five AmCits. 
 
EFFORTS TO ASSUME CONTROL 
OF NEIGHBORING PROPERTIES 
------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The evictions came after a complicated legal battle 
in which Israeli courts awarded ownership of the homes to 
Nakhalat Shimon International (NSI), on behalf of the 
Sephardic Community Committee (SCC).  The Hanun and Ghawi 
families are two of 28 Palestinian refugee families that the 
Jordanian government relocated to this area in the 1950s, and 
up to 24 other families could face eviction.  Additionally, 
NSI and SCC are currently involved in two other cases of 
disputed property ownership in Shaykh Jarrah, according to 
the Jerusalem-based NGO Ir Amim.  In August 2008, NSI filed 
Town Plan Scheme 12705 in the Jerusalem Local Planning 
Commission with the intent to demolish the existing 
Palestinian homes in Shaykh Jarrah and construct 200 housing 
units.  This would require NSI to gain legal title to all of 
the properties and evict the current residents. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In addition to the cases involving NSI and SCC, 
Post is aware of other eviction cases in the courts.  For 
example, at least one additional family in Shaykh Jarrah 
could be evicted if they lose their case, which is scheduled 
to be heard in court in October 2009 (ref D).  Six 
Palestinian families in the southern Jerusalem neighborhood 
of Bayt Safafa have been ordered to turn their homes over to 
a Jewish owner, based on a case where the original owner 
appears to have sold the property two different times.  Husni 
Abu Hussayn, a lawyer for the Hanun and Ghawi families, told 
PolOff August 3 that he is still pursuing legal options to 
return some members of the families to portions of their 
homes, even if it means sharing residency with the settlers. 
 
JERUSALEM 00001344  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
PALESTINIAN, INTERNATIONAL 
REACTION CRITICIZES EVICTIONS 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Palestinian officials -- including PLO Senior 
Negotiator, Sa'eb Erekat; Governor Adnan Hussayni; former 
Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Hatem Abd al-Qader; and a 
Jerusalem PLC delegate, Bernard Sabella -- criticized the GoI 
for evicting Palestinian families from their homes, and some 
criticized the USG for not interceding to stop the evictions. 
 Palestinians called the evictions an Israeli attempt to 
consolidate control over Jerusalem prior to determining the 
city's permanent status.  The British Consulate General in 
Jerusalem and UN Middle East Envoy Robert Serry issued 
separate statements condemning the evictions, and calling on 
Israel to restore the homes to the Palestinians in order to 
foster a positive atmosphere for negotiations.  President 
Abbas's CoS Rafiq Hussayni even suggested publicly that the 
PLO may pursue the issue in the UNSC. 
 
NEARBY PROTEST TENT DEMOLISHED 
------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In addition to these evictions, the Jerusalem 
Municipality demolished a protest tent on vacant land near 
the two homes on August 2.  This tent served as the home of 
Fawzia al-Kurd, who was evicted from her nearby house in 
Shaykh Jarrah in November 2008 (ref E).  Mrs. al-Kurd was in 
Jordan at the time of the demolition, and the tent was 
vacant.  Stephan Miller, an aide to Jerusalem Mayor Nir 
Barkat, said that the tent did not have the required permits. 
 Mrs. al-Kurd's son said the family had permission from the 
Palestinian owner of the vacant lot to set up their tent. 
WALLES