Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) hailed the Sheikh Jarrah families’ position against the Israeli Supreme Court’s compromise.
All Palestinian families in Jerusalem Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood have declared in a press conference held on Tuesday 02/11/2021 their total rejection to the compromise that had been proposed by Israel’s Supreme Court in October.
The proposal would have allowed them to remain in their homes for at least 15 years, in exchange for recognising the ownership interests of a settler group to which they would have paid nominal rent.
Hence, AOHR UK considers the Israeli deal as a new attempt to circumvent Palestinian legitimate rights in favour of settlement expansion.
AOHR UK further said that Israel’s eviction plans against the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood came as part of its systematic ethnic cleansing plans in occupied Jerusalem, urging the Sheikh Jarrah families to remain solid before these Israeli displacement policies.
AOHR UK also stressed that all Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem is considered illegal under humanitarian international law.
The Fourth Geneva Convention provides that “the transfer by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies” is a grave breach of the Protocol.
Thus, AOHR UK renewed calls on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute those responsible for the Sheikh Jarrah plight, mainly: Israeli political leaders, settler groups, and Israeli Supreme Court judges.
AOHR UK calls on the international community to act urgently to put an end to the Israeli decades-long displacement policy and systematic forced evictions of Palestinians.
