{"id":57921,"date":"2026-06-14T12:07:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T09:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/?p=57921"},"modified":"2026-06-14T13:00:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T10:00:51","slug":"eviction-ruling-sarhan-silwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/eviction-ruling-sarhan-silwan","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Orders Eviction of 12 Families from Their Homes in Silwan for Settlers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Israeli Supreme Court this week summarily rejected<\/a> a request for leave to appeal filed by dozens of members of the Sarhan family, definitively ruling that they must vacate their homes in Silwan in favor of settlers affiliated with Ateret Cohanim. The decision probably exhausts all remaining legal avenues to prevent the eviction. Settlers are expected to initiate enforcement proceedings in the near future, and unless the government intervenes to halt the eviction, approximately 12 nuclear families from the Sarhan family, comprising dozens of individuals, could be forced from their homes within a matter of months.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Sarhan family has lived in the Batan al-Hawa area of Silwan for more than 60 years. In 1961, when Silwan and East Jerusalem were under Jordanian rule, the family patriarch purchased land in Batan al-Hawa and built his home there. Over the years, the family constructed four houses in which members of the Sarhan family, their children and grandchildren lived without interference. In 2015, the families were sued by representatives of the settler organization Ateret Cohanim, who claimed to represent a Jewish trust that had owned the land more than a century ago and were now seeking, on its behalf, to have the families removed from their homes. In December 2025, the Jerusalem Magistrate\u2019s Court accepted the settlers\u2019 eviction claim, ruling that ownership belonged to the Jewish trust and ordering the Sarhan family to vacate the properties. In February 2026, the Jerusalem District Court rejected the family\u2019s appeal. The Supreme Court has now dismissed their request for leave to appeal without holding a hearing.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that in September 2015, settlers moved into one of the Sarhan family\u2019s buildings<\/a> after claiming to have signed an agreement with one of the family members. Several settler families currently live in that building. According to information available to us, one of the residents is a member of the Jerusalem City Council. Until now, dozens of members of the Sarhan family have continued to reside in the three adjacent houses.<\/p>\n

The eviction proceedings are part of a broader campaign of lawsuits aimed at forcibly displacing an entire community of hundreds of residents from the neighborhood in East Jerusalem and replacing it with a settlement. In recent months, settlers have taken over two homes<\/a> in Batan al-Hawa following the eviction<\/a> of the Palestinian families who lived there. The legal basis for these eviction claims is a discriminatory law<\/a> that allows Jews to reclaim property lost in the 1948 war, while another law denies Palestinians the same right.<\/p>\n

Over the past two years, settlers have moved into eight homes in Batan al-Hawa from which approximately 130 residents from 26 families have been evicted, most recently in March of this year<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Peace Now: “Regrettably, there is no other term to describe this than ethnic cleansing. Settlers, with the assistance of the government and a discriminatory legal framework, are expelling an entire Palestinian community and replacing it with settlers. This is happening in Jerusalem in 2026, and it will remain a stain on the State of Israel. The government can and must stop the forced displacement of an entire community, and responsibility rests squarely on its shoulders. In its advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) explicitly addressed the discriminatory legal regime and Israel\u2019s settlement policy in East Jerusalem, finding them to be in violation of international law.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u05de\u05e4\u05ea \u05d1\u05ea\u05d9\u05dd \u05d1\u05d8\u05df \u05d0\u05dc\u05d4\u05d5\u05d5\u05d0 \u05e1\u05d9\u05dc\u05d5\u05d5\u05d0\u05df, \u05d9\u05d5\u05e0\u05d9 2026 \u05ea\u05de\u05d5\u05e0\u05ea \u05de\u05e6\u05d1 \u05d0\u05e0\u05d2\u05dc\u05d9\u05ea<\/p><\/div>\n

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Current snapshot (June 2026): Around 60 families are at risk of eviction:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Already evicted from their homes<\/strong>:
\n38 families with hundreds of people have already been evicted<\/a>, and\u00a0settlers have moved in<\/a> in their place, including eight homes that settlers entered in the past two years: the Shhadeh family home<\/a>, the\u00a0Abu Nab family home<\/a>, the Gheith family<\/a> home, the Odeh and Shuweiki<\/a> families\u2019 home, the Umm Nasser Rajabi family<\/a> home, the Khalil Basbous family home and the Yousef Basbous and the Yaakub Rajabi<\/a> families’ homes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Under Eviction Notice:\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
Four buildings in Batan Al-Hawa are scheduled to be evicted in the coming months: The Abd al-Fattah Rajabi<\/a> house (26 people), the Qaid Rajabi house (18 people), Zouheir Rajabi House (39 people). The house of Yassin Rajabi (4 families) also received an eviction notice, after losing in court without filing a defense.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Supreme Court Eviction Ruling<\/strong><\/div>\n
The Supreme Court rejected this week the request for leave to appeal of the Sarhan family (12 nuclear families with dozens of people) and settlers are expected to open execution processes soon.<\/div>\n

Ongoing Lawsuits in the Magistrate\u2019s Court:
\n<\/strong>There are at least three additional eviction lawsuits that we know of against at least 12 homes, involving dozens of families and hundreds of residents. These cases are at various stages in the Jerusalem Magistrate\u2019s Court before different judges (families including Odeh, Abu Ramouz, and Duweik<\/a>).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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One Law for Israelis; Another one for Palestinians<\/h3>\n

The basis for all the lawsuits\u00a0is the same<\/a>: the\u00a0Legal and Administrative Matters Law<\/a>\u00a0enacted in 1970 by the Knesset stated that Jews who owned property in East Jerusalem and lost it in 1948 can receive it back from the Israeli General Custodian, even though all those Jewish property owners received alternative homes from the state as early as 1948. This is in contrast to the Absentees\u2019 Properties Law from 1950, which states that Palestinians who lost their property in Israel in 1948 and became refugees would not be entitled to receive it back. Since the Legal and Administrative Matters Law was applied only in East Jerusalem and not in West Jerusalem, it only applies to Jews and not to Palestinians who lost their property in the same war and under similar circumstances.<\/p>\n

For more information on the Legal and Administrative Matters Law \u2013 see One City, Two Laws<\/a>, and also here.<\/a><\/p>\n

International law prohibits the evacuation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In\u00a0the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)<\/a>\u00a0given last July, the court specifically referred to the Israeli settlement policy in East Jerusalem and the discriminatory system of laws, in particular the Absentees\u2019 Properties Law, which results in the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in favor of settlers. The court ruled that this policy constitutes a violation of international law (see for example\u00a0paragraphs 119, 122, 163, 196<\/a>\u00a0of the opinion).<\/p>\n

In one of the Batan al-Hawa lawsuits that reached the Supreme Court, a group of leading Israeli experts\u00a0in international law\u00a0filed\u00a0<\/a>an application with the court\u00a0to submit an amicus curiae brief. According to the brief, Palestinian residents\u2019 human right to housing includes the right to continue living in properties that have served as their homes for decades, and they have developed certain property rights in these homes.\u00a0The brief addresses an approach that has emerged in international\u00a0human rights jurisprudence, which\u00a0emphasizes the<\/strong>\u00a0group vulnerability\u00a0<\/strong>of occupants facing eviction and\u00a0institutional, systemic discrimination<\/strong>.\u00a0Where these are present, in certain circumstances, the occupants\u2019 rights, stemming from the\u00a0human right to housing<\/strong>\u00a0and specifically,\u00a0to live in their home and their family\u2019s home<\/strong>, trump the right of the original owner or their substitute to regain possession of the property.<\/p>\n

Much of international law applies fully and directly in Israel and constitutes an integral part of the domestic local legal system. In addition, the courts must interpret Israeli law, to the extent possible, in a manner consistent with international law, even without direct application (we note that the brief does not address international criminal law or the laws of war). So far, all deliberations in cases concerning evictions in Sheikh Jarrah and Batan al-Hawa have focused on questions arising from private law (property, charitable endowments, limitations, protected tenancy, etc.), as if the parties were equal sides in a real estate dispute.<\/p>\n

The brief provides a new perspective, uncovering the full picture and the context for the eviction applications: The Palestinian family in question belongs to a vulnerable, discriminated group, both in terms of legal rights and in terms of policy and resources. They are facing an orchestrated effort, with state backing, to dispossess them of their homes. The family entered the properties lawfully (they are not trespassers) and have lived in the houses for generations, in some cases for more than 60 years. In such circumstances, under international human rights law, families have a right to the property where they live, and, if certain conditions are met, that right overrides the original owners\u2019 right to regain possession. Many examples of such cases from around the world are available.<\/p>\n

The court read the brief but did not refer to it in its decision. The court\u00a0returned the discussion<\/a>\u00a0of the question of ownership for another discussion at the Magistrate\u2019s Court.<\/p>\n

For more on the opinion from international law,\u00a0see here.<\/a><\/p>\n

The matter is not legal but political; the government can stop the eviction<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The settlers have an interest in presenting the issue as a purely legal matter, of two parties arguing over ownership of the property and the court deciding. But denial and blindfolding are needed to ignore the context and mechanism established to exploit discriminatory laws for the purpose of realizing settlement political goals. This is a political issue with far-reaching implications for the entire State of Israel and the future of the conflict, and the court is only the tool to implement the move. Therefore, the Israeli government has a responsibility and an obligation to intervene.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0To express a legal position in the Batan Alhawa cases<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Although Justice Sohlberg decided not to wait any longer for the State\u2019s position, the government can still express a legal position in the pending cases, according to which the residents of Batan Al-Hawa have rights to continue to live in their homes even though the official ownership belongs to settlers. This position can be based, for example, on international law, which is part of the system of legal considerations in Israel \u2013\u00a0see the legal opinion submitted on the matter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. The government can expropriate the land<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 the government can expropriate the land for public purposes (while compensating the settlers). Since 1967, the Israeli government has expropriated about a third of East Jerusalem lands to build 55,000 housing units for Israelis. What was done for the benefit of the Israeli public with the expropriation of more than 20,000 dunams from Palestinians, can be done for the benefit of the Palestinian residents of Batan Al-Hawa with the expropriation of 5 dunams from settlers.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong>\u00a0Change in legislation and policy<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 the Knesset can correct the injustice caused as a result of the discriminatory law by amending or repealing the relevant sections of\u00a0the\u00a0Legal and Administrative Matters Law (1970)<\/a>\u00a0on the basis of which all these eviction claims were filed.<\/p>\n

4. The immediate way to prevent eviction is to avoid sending the police to assist in evacuation.<\/strong>\u00a0Without the police, people cannot be evicted from their homes. It is the police who determine the appropriate timing for carrying out various tasks in accordance with the security situation and considerations of public peace. The police can determine that for now, for reasons of security and public safety, the evacuation should be avoided. Such a position has been taken in the past and obtained the approval of the Attorney General (in 1991 when the police prevented the Elad settlers from entering houses in Silwan, and in 1999 in an Attorney General opinion on a property in Ras Al-Amoud).\u00a0see more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Israeli Supreme Court this week summarily rejected a request for leave to appeal filed by dozens of members of the Sarhan family, definitively ruling that they must vacate their homes in Silwan in favor of settlers affiliated with Ateret Cohanim. The decision probably exhausts all remaining legal avenues to prevent the eviction. Settlers are… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":35848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2397,16],"tags":[3013,2402,1322],"class_list":["post-57921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-jerusalem","category-settlement-watch","tag-ateret-cohanim","tag-batan-al-hawa","tag-silwan"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57921"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57930,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57921\/revisions\/57930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}