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After Being Evicted From Their Home, Families’ Temporary Tent Is Destroyed By Israeli Authorities

Palestine Monitor

29 October 2009

On Tuesday the Israeli authorities dismantled the tent and took away the remaining possessions of the Al-Ghawi family who had been camping outside the home they were evicted from in August. Maysoun Al-Ghawi was preparing breakfast when the soldiers arrived “I was holding tomatoes in my hand, about to make a salad when the Israeli army surrounded the tent. I was confused, frightened, shocked. I have been evicted from my home and yesterday I was evicted from my tent, which was a symbol of refuge for me and my children.”


Maysoun al -Ghawi during the press conference: Photo: Palestine Monitor

The Ghawi family was evicted from their home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem in August this year and the same day a family of Israeli settlers took occupancy. The Ghawi’s had since set up a tent on the pavement opposite where they’d been living whilst petitioning their eviction. The family was given the house in 1956 by the UN agency UNRWA after being forcibly removed from their original home in West Jerusalem. The Israeli Authorities now claim the land the house is built on belongs to a Jewish family dating back to the Ottoman Empire though know legal documentation has ever materialized to verify this claim.


Israeli army and police surrounding the protest tent: Photo: Palestine Monitor

At a press conference held yesterday Maysoun Al-Ghawi urged the Palestinian Authority to respond to increasingly aggressive action taken against the people of East Jerusalem. 28 more families face eviction and house demolitions continue unabated despite international condemnation. She called for “every human being who believes in values to stand with us and ask how long must we live on this pavement?”


Israeli police dismantling and removing the tent: Photo: Palestine Monitor

UN officials joined an international delegation from the European Union at yesterday’s conference but their presence did little to deter the authorities who declared the gathering illegal and dismantled the temporary shelter that had been set up in the tent’s place. The settlers looked on from the roof of the Al-Ghawi’s house, filming and photographing the scenes of protest and the families growing distress witnessed on the street below.


Israli settlers looking on from the roof: Photo: Palestine Monitor

Today the Presidency of the European Union issued a statement calling for the Israeli Authorities to immediately halt such actions saying their behaviour runs, “counter to the creation of an atmosphere conducive to achieving a viable and credible solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.”

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