1. Abu Nab Family in Batan al-Hawa Receives New Eviction Notice
2. Collective Restrictions Imposed on Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif
3. Ir Amim Submits Kedem Petition

ABU NAB FAMILY RECEIVES NEW EVICTION NOTICE

Yesterday, Abdallah Abu Nab received a second eviction notice, effective October 11 – 25.  As previously reported, the Abu Nabs are one family at the center of settler organization Ateret Cohanim’s efforts to take over several plots of land in the Batan al-Hawa section of Silwan – a takeover that could result in hundreds of settlers displacing Palestinian residents from 88 units in this densely populated neighborhood.

In recent weeks, settlers took over a four-story building containing 12 housing units, occupying all but once, where a single Palestinian family continues to resist pressure to evacuate their home. The settlers also took another unit adjacent to the building several days later.

Please see latest updates to Ir Amim's map of the contested area.

Background

On August 6^th, Ir Amim reported the first of what would become a fast unfolding series of settler actions aimed at seizing 88 units in the Batan al-Hawa section of Silwan.  That week, the Israeli Execution and Collection authority issued an eviction notice for two units of the Abu Nab family.  In May, some 20 settlers had reportedly taken control of three additional family units, under the protection of Israeli forces.  The property is located next to the Beit Dvash settlement and not far from the larger and more controversial Ateret Cohanim settlement of Beit Yonatan.

The Abu Nab units currently under threat are located on one of two plots of land handed over to the Ateret Cohanim settler organization by the Israeli office of the General Custodian, and now the focus of concerted settler efforts to evict Palestinians from their homes. The General Custodian conveyed the land to the Ateret Cohanim managed Benvenisti charitable trust in 2002.  In 2006, the General Custodian directly sold several dozen additional units to Ateret Cohanim, completely bypassing any tender process. 

In addition, last month Ateret Cohanim applied for two building permits for projects on an empty plot of land opposite the Beit Yonatan settlement: one, a permit for a four-story building (exceeding the two-story maximum building height stipulated in the town planning scheme) and two, an adjoining parking space.  As the vacant lot in question actually appears to be outside the parameters of the 88 units, these developments indicate the settler group’s plans to expand even beyond the scope of the two plots conveyed by the General Custodian.  Further, the request for the attached parking space was made by the Ministry of Housing and Construction and the Jerusalem Municipality, signaling additional government support for Ateret Cohanim’s activities. 

The 88 units currently in question represent a potential influx of several hundred settlers into Batan al-Hawa, constituting a major settler stronghold within the core of Silwan, arguably the most politically volatile neighborhood in East Jerusalem given its close proximity to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif and ongoing actions—both through evictions and touristic settlement projects like the City of David and approved Kedem Compound—to consolidate Israeli control of the neighborhood.

COLLECTIVE RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED ON TEMPLE MOUNT/HARAM AL-SHARIF

Recent actions regarding the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif have elevated tensions during what is traditionally the most combustible time of year for the contested holy site. 

On August 24 Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan formally recommended that the Ministry of Defense outlaw the activities of the murabitun/murabitat (women) – Muslim demonstrators known to harass Jewish Temple Mount activists who ascend to the Al Aqsa Compound.  On Tuesday, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon responded to Erdan’s request by signing a decree banning the two groups, claiming “The goal of Morabiton and Morabitat is to undermine Israeli authority on Temple Mount, alter reality and existing arrangements and restrict freedom of worship, and it is tied to the activity of hostile Islamist organizations and even directed by them.”

In the two weeks since Erdan’s recommendation was made public, Police have blocked all Muslim women (not necessarily associated with the murabitat) from entering the Al Aqsa Compound from 7:30 AM – 11:00 AM, the period designated for non-Muslim entrance, based on the grounds of security considerations.  This policy constitutes a significant change: while the Israeli Police regularly issues warrants preventing individual Muslims accused of disorderly conduct from entering the Compound, since last November no collective restrictions have been imposed.  For several days, school children whose schools are located in the compound were also denied access, preventing them from reaching their classes.

The Jewish high holidays traditionally serve as a lightning rod for increased ascents by Jews, many impelled by the goal of Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount.  Last year, the Tishrei holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot) provoked the highest levels of violence seen in recent years, ultimately prompting the Jordanian government to recall its ambassador and Prime Minister Netanyahu, under international pressure, to publicly reiterate Israel’s commitment to maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif.  This year, the Jewish Tishrei holidays coalesce with the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha, further exacerbating tensions. 

IR AMIM SUBMITS KEDEM PETITION

On September 7, 2015 attorneys Ishay Shneydor and Carmel Pomerantz, on behalf of Ir Amim, filed an administrative petition against the Appeals Committee of the National Planning Council’s approval of construction of the Kedem Compound in Silwan by the Elad settler organization.

The Kedem Compound (Plan No. 13542) is Elad's plan for construction of a 5 story visitor center (more than 16,000 square meters) in Silwan, roughly 20 meters from the Old City walls.  The project won the enthusiastic support of the authorities, including Mayor Barkat, and was fast tracked by the local and district planning and building committees, later joined by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) as a formal submitter. 

As previously reported, in response to Ir Amim’s and others’ appeal against the District Planning and Building’s approval of the plan, the Appeals Committee made substantial modifications– significantly reducing, for instance, the scope of the plan and restricting the types of activities which can be conducted within the proposed visitor center.  While Ir Amim considers these changes to be an achievement, it continues to work through all available channels to resist the plan.  As the Appeals Committee left no further room to challenge the plan as a whole, this petition challenges the privatization of the center, which  further exacerbates the plan’s harm to the neighborhood and prospects for a political resolution on Jerusalem.  The petition therefore calls for the cancellation of the  plan for a visitor center in the national park surrounding the Old City walls by a private entity; or, at minimum, demands that the project be placed under public authority. 

As claimed in the petition, the Appeals Committee’s decision enabling the visitor center to be run under the auspices of a private organization is unlawful, violates explicit court rulings regarding privatization, and is inconsistent with the rules of public administration (delegation of powers) and the public interest.  In earlier judicial proceedings initiated by Ir Amim against Elad’s private management of the City of David, the INPA claimed that it had no choice but to grant specific authorities to Elad given Elad’s ownership of properties on the site prior to the establishment of the park.  In the case of the Kedem Compound, the INPA is cooperating with Elad and limiting its own discretionary powers in advance of establishing a new structure, an unparalleled decision in terms of the national, religious, political, and historical sensitivities involved in such a transfer of authority.

Please address all inquiries to:

Betty Herschman

Director of International Relations & Advocacy

Ir Amim (City of Nations/City of Peoples)

betty@ir-amim.org.il

054-308-5096

@IrAmimAlerts