Israeli settler group looks to evict 9 Palestinian families

Notorious Israeli settler group Ateret Cohanim is attempting to evict a further nine Palestinian families in Silwan, a neighbourhood in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem.

According to the report in Haaretz, this brings the total number of Palestinian families whom the group is seeking to evict to 72, all of whom live in an area of Silwan called Batan Al-Hawa.

The paper notes that “over the last two years”, legal proceedings against Palestinian residents have “accelerated”, and “several families have already been evicted”.

Meanwhile, “a few dozen Jews currently live in Batan Al-Hawa, most of them in a building called Beit Yonatan,” where “there are almost daily clashes between local Palestinians and Israeli police and security guards protecting the Jewish families.”

According to Haaretz, “if all the other Palestinians in Batan Al-Hawa are evicted, this would enable the establishment of a sizable Jewish neighbourhood in the heart of Silwan, surrounded by tens of thousands of Palestinians.”

Earlier this month, the United Nations (UN) announced that eviction cases have been filed against at least 180 Palestinian households in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, the majority initiated by settler organisations. Some 818 Palestinians, including 372 children, are facing displacement, the UN said.