Evictions: Sheikh Jarrah, No; Beit Dror, Yes?

YERUSHALAYIM
Israeli security forces use a crane to remove illegally built modular homes in the Beit Dror outpost, in the hills south of Chevron, Tuesday. (Wisam Hashlamoun/FLASH90)

The Israeli government does not plan to evict Arab residents in Yerushalayim’s Sheikh Jarrah, even if the High Court rules the evictions can proceed, the Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday, quoting a source close to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry dismantled seven mobile homes in an unauthorized Jewish outpost located in Adorayim, in the southern Chevron hills, according to Haaretz.

The High Court scheduled a hearing for next Monday on the eviction of four Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah. Lower courts have upheld claims that the property is owned by the Nahalat Shimon Company, which seeks to develop the land for Jewish housing.

Even if the court ruling favors the Palestinians, it is thought unlikely to order the state to carry out the evictions, in light of international pressure and the explosive nature of the case, which has already been seized upon as a reason for violent demonstrations.

On Tuesday morning, Justice Uzi Vogelman rejected a petition from Adorayim residents for a delay in the removals. They argued that the homes were placed there “in coordination with government authorities in Israel, in light of the intention of the State of Israel to act to legalize the planning status of the Adorayim site.”

Vogelman said, however, that they could submit an appeal against the confiscation of the structures in the future.

The eviction was carried out without any resistance from the residents.

Tomel Rahamim, a resident of the outpost, told Haaretz that the residents were surprised by the evacuation, since it was set up in coordination with the authorities, who even helped in building the surrounding wall.

On Monday, the residents brought in a cement mixer in an attempt to fix the mobile homes in place, believing that this would “reduce the determination of the Civil Administration,” said Rahamim. The cement mixer was confiscated by the Civil Administration before it carried out its work.

The outpost is located on an abandoned military base. The families moved onto the site in 2016 after the shooting on Route 60 in the South Chevron Hills in which Miki Mark Hy”d, 48, of Otniel, was killed.

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