30 families facing eviction east of Jerusalem to make room for more settlements

The Safa Palestinian Press Agency reported on Tuesday that Israeli occupation forces have handed final eviction notices to members of the Bedouin community residing in Al-Jahalin, which is located in the eastern governorate of Jerusalem.

Sami Abu Ghalya, a leader of the Bedouin community in Al-Jahalin, revealed that occupation forces stormed the area and handed eviction orders to its families.

Abu Ghalya explained that the occupation forces plan to evacuate 30 families from Al-Jahalin in order to resume construction of the separation wall from the direction of Al-Eizariya and Abu Dis. This will allow Israel to illegally annex more Palestinian land to the Kedar settlement and to make way for the implementation of the controversial E-1 settlement plan.

The Al-Jahalin Bedouin originally lived in the northern Naqab, or Negev, and herded their livestock between Ramallah, Wadi Qelt and Jerusalem. However, Israel evicted them from the area in 1949, and after 1967 the occupation authorities confiscated most of their lands, forcing the community to resettle in the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem, an area known as E1 and adjacent to the Ma’ale Adumim and Kedar settlements. The Israeli government is now claiming that the Bedouin are living in Al-Jahalin illegally and plans to remove them from the area and resettle them in the West Bank.

Abu Ghalya warned that Israel intends to implement its plans to displace the Al-Jahalin Bedouin soon, which will threaten their livelihood and continued survival. However, he also stressed that his community remains resilient, despite their ongoing marginalisation, displacement and neglect.