On Wednesday June 12th, the Jerusalem District Court will hear the appeal filed by Jawad Siyam against the decision of the Magistrate’s Court to grant Elad settlers parts of his home in Silwan. This is another, perhaps final, stage in the long struggle of the family against the settlers of Elad who have been trying to take over the Siyam house in different ways for over 20 years.
At the beginning of the 1990s, Elad claimed that it had purchased parts of the house from the family’s father (the court ruled that the contract presented by the settlers was invalid); them they claimed that they had acquired the grandmother’s share through three of her children (the court rejected the claim). Eventually in a 1999 suit filed by Elad, the District Court ruled that all the settlers had managed to acquire was four parts out of eight of the grandmother’s portion. There is disagreement between the parties over the extent of the grandmother’s share, and the District Court is expected to discuss this question, inter alia, in the appeal on Wednesday.
The struggle for this house in Silwan is more than the typical one between the powerful and wealthy association versus private families that have to deal with lengthy, exhausting and expensive procedures, with various claims of purchase by the settlers. Jawad Siyam, who is now fighting for his home, is one of the neighborhood’s main leaders, a social worker who has established community centers for children and families in Silwan. He conducts many activities that help the resilience of the community and residents and he leads the nonviolent struggle against the occupation and the settlement in Silwan.
The hearing on the appeal will take place on Wednesday, June 12, at 12:30 in the Jerusalem District Court before the judges Arnon Darel, Anat Singer and Alexander Ron (CA 48439-01-19)
For further details on the ruling on which the appeal is based, click here.
To contribute to the Siyam family’s struggle, click here.