Palestiniancouple evicted for not paying rent to settlers who took their home

[Adam Skaggs]

Israeli police have evicted a disabled Palestinian man and his wife from their home of 52 years in a Palestinian district surrounded by settlers.
The eviction, which took place before dawn on Sunday, comes after years of litigation that culminated in an Israeli supreme court ruling in July ordering the couple out of the house.
Several governments, including the United States and Britain, whose consulate is a few hundred yards from the house in east Jerusalem, had tried to intervene on behalf of Mohammad and Fawzieh al-Kurd but without success. Most of the international community has not recognised Israeli sovereignty over east Jerusalem, which was captured in the 1967 war and annexed.
Palestinians have long argued that evictions and demolitions are an attempt by Israel to reduce the number of Palestinians in east Jerusalem to allow settlement expansion and to pre-judge a final status peace agreement.
"It is damaging the peace between Palestinians and Israelis," said Rafiq Husseini, chief of staff to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. "They have to halt their settlers or they will not have peace with us ever."
Israeli officials argue they are following the law. A police spokesman said the eviction was in accordance with the court decision.
The story of the al-Kurd house is long and disputed and involves complicated legal and political battles. Mohammad al-Kurd and his parents were one of several families of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war who were housed in the Sheikh Jarrah district in 1956, a time when it was under Jordanian control.
His family came from Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, and his wife's family was from Talbeyieh in west Jerusalem. Under an agreement with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees the families gave up their food ration cards and were given the properties under 33-year leases, which would revert to full ownership as long as they paid a token rent and kept the properties in good order.
It appears, however, that the land was previously owned in the late 19th century by Jews - it is close to an old Jewish tomb long popular with pilgrims. In 1967, when Israel captured east Jerusalem, the property was taken by the custodian for absentee property, an Israeli institution that had also taken control of all property left behind by the 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced out in the 1948 war.
Two Jewish groups began a legal process to reclaim ownership of the property and in 1972 the court gave control of the land to the heirs of two rabbis who appeared to be the 19th century owners.
The al-Kurd family say their Israeli lawyer made the agreement without their knowledge.
The couple became 'protected tenants', liable to pay rent to their new Israeli landlords but they refused on principle.
"Why should I pay rent for my own house?" said Fawzieh al-Kurd, 57, who sat yesterday by a tent on a patch of wasteland not far from her house. In 2001, several settlers began to occupy an outer part of the house and remain in place today – despite court orders to evict them.
As soon as the couple was evicted at 4am on Sunday, a group of Jewish settlers moved in. They remain there today while armed police officers and private security guards patrol the surrounding area where several settler families live.
"The Israeli government did what they wanted to do," said al-Kurd. "Because we are Palestinians they have to humiliate and insult us like this? Don't we deserve to live in peace on our land?"
The United Nations relief and works agency (UNRWA) said it opposed the eviction of the al-Kurds and of all Palestinian refugees.
"Throwing an elderly couple out of their house in the early hours of the morning is shameful," said Chris Gunness, a spokesman. "UNRWA will continue to offer the family assistance but nothing we offer can compensate for the loss of a home."
Although Israel's absentee property laws were applied on the al-Kurd family in favour of the original Jewish owners they are rarely, if ever, applied on properties in Israel that were owned by Palestinians before the 1948 war.
Rabbi Arik Ascherman, of the Israeli group Rabbis for Human Rights, acknowledged that the al-Kurd land may have belonged to Jews before 1948 but told the Associated Press: "Do any of us Israelis really want to go back to the situation where everyone owns what they owned in 1948?"
Daniel Seidemann, a prominent Israeli human rights lawyer, said it appeared the al-Kurd family had no legal recourse left to hold on to their house. But he noted that their home is in an area much coveted by powerful Jewish settler groups.
"This is part of the areas targeted by the settler organisations to surround the old city of Jerusalem," he said.
A scheme had been lodged which showed the settler groups hoped to eventually raze the houses they occupy and to build a much larger settlement complex.
"There is a legal case that was decided on the al-Kurd family," he said. "This does have political ramifications in that there is a concerted effort to take these targeted areas and reduce the Palestinian presence. Clearly, the al-Kurd family has been a victim."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/10/israelandthepalestinians

[pvt ramirez]

thats just f***ED up thats sad things like that make me sick . they were just a olderly couple.

[Gambit]

Thats a very nice thing to do. :roll:

[NimDod]

Under an agreement with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees the families gave up their food ration cards and were given the properties under 33-year leases, which would revert to full ownership as long as they paid a token rent and kept the properties in good order.
It appears, however, that the land was previously owned in the late 19th century by Jews - it is close to an old Jewish tomb long popular with pilgrims. In 1967, when Israel captured east Jerusalem, the property was taken by the custodian for absentee property, an Israeli institution that had also taken control of all property left behind by the 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced out in the 1948 war.
Two Jewish groups began a legal process to reclaim ownership of the property and in 1972 the court gave control of the land to the heirs of two rabbis who appeared to be the 19th century owners.
The al-Kurd family say their Israeli lawyer made the agreement without their knowledge.
The couple became 'protected tenants', liable to pay rent to their new Israeli landlords but they refused on principle.
"Why should I pay rent for my own house?

so, If I refuse to pay my landlords rent on principle and get evicted, would it also get to the Guardian's headlines?

[Arnie100]

Probably not...

[gilgoul]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/10/israelandthepalestinians


Highly unbiased sources we got here.
The day the Guardian titles on the real estate being repossessed in the former Sudetten by the descendants of the Germans who were ethnically cleansed from there after ww2, they may regain a bit of credibility.

[LRPV]

The title is misleading. But given the topic I'm underwhelmed by surprise...

[RoyB]

Oh my god, they got evicted because they wouldn't pay the rent!
Who the hell can do such an evil thing!? oh wait, I know.. everybody.

[Danielotu]

Apparently, from the posts I've read here, it is safe to conclude that the lives and well being of innocent Palestinians - men, women, children- doesn't mean JACK to anyone here on this thread. After all, they are not even considered humans. And you all wonder why the violence there never stops. Well, please continue with this action.

[RoyB]

How could you conclude that?
Should we all be in grief because people who wouldn't pay rent got evicted? what is wrong with that?

[Ordie]

What's the point of evicting when there is a housing glut in Jerusalem?

[Gambit]

His family came from Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, and his wife's family was from Talbeyieh in west Jerusalem. Under an agreement with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees the families gave up their food ration cards and were given the properties under 33-year leases, which would revert to full ownership as long as they paid a token rent and kept the properties in good order.
It appears, however, that the land was previously owned in the late 19th century by Jews - it is close to an old Jewish tomb long popular with pilgrims. In 1967, when Israel captured east Jerusalem, the property was taken by the custodian for absentee property, an Israeli institution that had also taken control of all property left behind by the 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced out in the 1948 war.
Two Jewish groups began a legal process to reclaim ownership of the property and in 1972 the court gave control of the land to the heirs of two rabbis who appeared to be the 19th century owners.


Oh my god, they got evicted because they wouldn't pay the rent!
Who the hell can do such an evil thing!? oh wait, I know.. everybody.

Are you daft? The house was theirs, it was taken away because it "rightfully belonged to a rabbi that owned it in the 19th century".

They shouldn't be forced to pay a rent on their own house, but you know, palestenians apparently arent humans so who cares, right? :roll:

[RoyB]

the court gave control of the land to the heirs of two rabbis
You know what that means, right?
Anyway I won't buy the Guardian's crap as fact, I'll be waiting for a less biased source.
And 'Palestinians' are totally human.. unless you know something I don't.

[NimDod]

They shouldn't be forced to pay a rent on their own house, but you know, palestenians apparently arent humans so who cares, right? :roll:

the agreement they signed with the UN says otherwise.

Under an agreement with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees the families gave up their food ration cards and were given the properties under 33-year leases, which would revert to full ownership as long as they paid a token rent and kept the properties in good order.

If they paid their rent - they whould have stayed at home. They didn't, so they got evicted.
as simple as that.
if this didnt happen in Jerusalem to a Palestinian, do you think it would have made news?

[Super Sheep]

And people wonder why people blow themselves up in crowded buses.... While it is technically correct that they didn't "pay" rent... grievances like this.. especially unnecessary ones like this incident will just fan the flame of hate. **** like this adds up and eventually ****s gonna hit the fan.

[RoyB]

Yeah, they blow themselves up because they got evicted.
Oh well, I'm sorry you didn't pay rent and therefore made me evict you, don't blow yourself up, please stay for free..
What is unnecessary in this incident?
Seriously, I want to know that Guardian is saving me an headline if god forbid I get evicted..

[Moledet]

Just a note.

There's a wave of illegal building in Jerusalem since about the year 1999, it has nothing to do with the residents needs and everything to do with an attempt to ruin the city by building on public property. In addition, there's organized crime that sell people illegal building under the false pretext that they are authorized.

The Palestinian Authority pays fines that the city put on the Arab residents that build illegaly there. Khatem Abed Al-Kadr Eid that represents Jerusalem's area in the Palestinian parliament proudly said on Janury 7th, 2002 that, "we built 6000 homes in the last 4 years and only 198 were destroyed." NGOs never mention who is funding these buildings (Saudi Arabia, PA) and what they cause.

If they were smart instead of refraining from voting altogether they would go and vote like the Ultra Orthodox and that way have political capital that might get some of the illegal buildings authorized and create better living conditions. They can pick 7-8 city council members that will take care of their interests.
In 1998 Arafat distributed a newsletter saying, "not recognizing the legality of the occupation is more important than our living conditions...", if that's the way they want to live it's their problem.

P.S. I'd call not paying your landlord money just because he is Jewish racism.

[gazell]

Yeah, they blow themselves up because they got evicted.
Oh well, I'm sorry you didn't pay rent and therefore made me evict you, don't blow yourself up, please stay for free..
What is unnecessary in this incident?
Seriously, I want to know that Guardian is saving me an headline if god forbid I get evicted..

You can get evicted rightly or wrongly, please pay attention to the difference.p-)

[Danielotu]

Yeah, they blow themselves up because they got evicted.
Oh well, I'm sorry you didn't pay rent and therefore made me evict you, don't blow yourself up, please stay for free..
What is unnecessary in this incident?
Seriously, I want to know that Guardian is saving me an headline if god forbid I get evicted..


You don't get it, do you. It's not just about the eviction, but the injustice that innocent Palestinians such as this couple face in the hands of the Israeli govt. Actions like this will only fuel the flame in that region, making things worse for everyone there.

[Laworkerbee]

Apparently, from the posts I've read here, it is safe to conclude that the lives and well being of innocent Palestinians - men, women, children- doesn't mean JACK to anyone here on this thread. After all, they are not even considered humans. And you all wonder why the violence there never stops. Well, please continue with this action.

You're one self righteous generalizing douche.

[Moledet]

You don't get it, do you. It's not just about the eviction, but the injustice that innocent Palestinians such as this couple face in the hands of the Israeli govt. Actions like this will only fuel the flame in that region, making things worse for everyone there.
What injustice? Not paying the landlord because he's Jewish? They aren't poor or don't have any money and then you might say it's cruel to evict them (although justified), they simply don't want to pay.

[Zeev]

another exemple of pure anti israeli propaganda based on lies.. but it works anyway, because it's so easy to hate israel... this habit tends to come naturally these days, you don't even need to think if what you read is real or fake; hate first :)

[Danielotu]

You're one self righteous generalizing douche.

Call me whatever name you like, but it still doesn't change the fact that the Palestinians have gone through. In the end, actions like this everything worse with people on both ends losing their lives. So please, continue with the insults :roll:.

[Laworkerbee]

Call me whatever name you like, but it still doesn't change the fact that the Palestinians have gone through. In the end, actions like this everything worse with people on both ends losing their lives. So please, continue with the insults :roll:.

You're a self righteous asshole who claims nobody else here cares about the Palestinians. Keep crying, it gives me a hard on. I know Palestinians who aren't as full of hot air as you are.

[Moledet]

another exemple of pure anti israeli propaganda based on lies.. but it works anyway, because it's so easy to hate israel... this habit tends to come naturally these days, don't even need to think if what you read is real or fake; hate first :)
I like it how they try to present it as a plan to turn Jerusalem Jewish while under Jordan rule in 1961 27% of the city residents were non Jewish and in 2000 they were 31% and expected to be 37.8% by 2020. The genocide and expulsion plans that we apparently run are the most failed the world has ever seen.

[Danielotu]

another exemple of pure anti israeli propaganda based on lies.. but it works anyway, because it's so easy to hate israel... this habit tends to come naturally these days, don't even need to think if what you read is real or fake; hate first :)


Anti-Isreali propaganda?.......Ok. Well, it's no use arguing. Apparently, there are a lot of people that support actions like this here on this forum. Besides, no matter what I say, it still isn't going to change anything. Life goes. But the future will tell.

[Hollis]

Anti-Isreali propaganda?.......Ok. Well, it's no use arguing. Apparently, there are a lot of people that support actions like this here on this forum. Besides, no matter what I say, it still isn't going to change anything. Life goes. But the future will tell.


This is the second time you berated this forum. There are many many others on the internet, maybe you need to find one more to your liking.

[Zeev]

I like it how they try to present it as a plan to turn Jerusalem Jewish while under Jordan rule in 1961 27% of the city residents were non Jewish and today they are 31% and expected to be 37.8% by 2020. The genocide and expulsion plans that we apparently run are the most failed the world has ever seen.

looks like the same for the "israeli" arabs.. persecuted 2nd class citizens..for sure..with a higher number of children by woman than jews and with the same rights to access to gvt social subventions.. what a true appartheid state israel is.. these kind of policies have obviously for goal to erase all arabs from the country.

[Danielotu]

You're a self righteous asshole who claims nobody else here cares about the Palestinians. Keep crying, it gives me a hard on. I know Palestinians who aren't as full of hot air as you are.


First of all, I'm not Palestinian neither do I come from the region. Also, you're free to continue with the insults, but I'm not going to stoop down to your level. It's not worth it.

[Laworkerbee]

First of all, I'm not Palestinian neither do I come from the region. Also, you're free to continue with the insults, but I'm not going to stoop down to your level. It's not worth it.

Trust me, I know you're not a Palestinian; Ibn himar.

[Danielotu]

This is the second time you berated this forum. There are many many others on the internet, maybe you need to find one more to your liking.


My sincere apologies if my post gave you that impression. Contrary to what you may think, I actually have a lot of respect for this forum as I've been a fan for quite sometime now. I'm only posting my opinions, and everyone's free to agree/disagree with my views.

[Danielotu]

Trust me, I know you're not a Palestinian; Ibn himar.

I have not done anything wrong apart from posting my opinion on the topic. It's fine if you don't agree with them as everyone's entitled to theirs. And if you have yours to share, that's ok too. After all, we're all get to learn.

[Moledet]

I have not done anything wrong apart from posting my opinion on the topic. It's fine if you don't agree with them as everyone's entitled to theirs. And if you have yours to share, that's ok too. After all, we're all get to learn.
You didn't post a simple opinion, you said that this is the reason they strap explosives and blow themselves up killing Israeli civilians. You said that some injustice occurred that is bad enough to cause a person to randomly kill civilians. The problem with your post is the distortion of reality and factual information.
This couple are Israeli residents, they aren't Israeli citizens because they decided to not accept the citizenship but they do have all the rights apart of voting for the Knesset. They faced a court in Jerusalem that dealt with their case and lost, it wasn't the Israeli government that evicted them (like you said) nor was it the IDF.

[Danielotu]

You didn't post a simple opinion, you said that this is the reason they strap explosives and blow themselves up killing Israeli civilians. You said that some injustice occurred that is bad enough to cause a person to randomly kill civilians. The problem with your post is the distortion of reality and factual information.
This couple are Israeli residents, they aren't Israeli citizens because they decided to not accept the citizenship but they do have all the rights apart of voting for the Knesset. They faced a court in Jerusalem that dealt with their case and lost, it wasn't the Israeli government that evicted them (like you said) nor was it the IDF.

You're absolutely right that I said that, as the injustice I talked about is one thing that fuels the violence over there. However, with regards to couple being talked about, my sincere apologies if there distortion in my post(s). The 2nd paragraph of your post clarifies everything for me.

[RoyB]

What it clarifies? what is the injustice here?
They didn't pay the rent, so they got evicted.

[martinexsquaddie]

yes but the people they were supposed to pay rent to got legal title through a very dubious
use of law.

[RoyB]

Have you read the court's decision or seen the evidences that you make such a statement?

[martinexsquaddie]

excuse me claiming descendants have legal title to land seized in battle is ropey.
so how many arabs get to claim back there houses they left as refugess?
if the answer is zero then its a ropey decison:(

[Moledet]

excuse me claiming descendants have legal title to land seized in battle is ropey.
so how many arabs get to claim back there houses they left as refugess?
if the answer is zero then its a ropey decison:(
If the Jewish family owned the house since the 19th century, it could never belong to refugees, does it?

What do you mean land seized in battle? Which battle? The 1948 battles that Jordan used to take over east Jerusalem or the 1967 war when Israel took over it?

[martinexsquaddie]

control of the land to the heirs of two rabbis who appeared to be the 19th century owners.

not exactly clear cut

wasn't the family that came fwd more a political group.
Also noticed didn't answer the question have any Arabs got property back

[Moledet]

control of the land to the heirs of two rabbis who appeared to be the 19th century owners.

not exactly clear cut

wasn't the family that came fwd more a political group.
Also noticed didn't answer the question have any Arabs got property back
Nope they didn't.
They will get property back right after the one million Jewish refugees that were forcibly removed from Arab countries will get back theirs.

[Zeev]

Nope they didn't.
They will get property back right after the one million Jewish refugees that were forcibly removed from Arab countries will get back theirs.

I think that they were more than only one million!

My familly came from one of those communities which were living in arab nations, we lost everything, just leave the country with our lives and one luggage by person, we were poor, so we didn't lost much, but other families lost big houses, stores, lands, one of my father friends did some search about the house of his childhood, not for coming back, just to know if the house still exist, and yeah, the house does still exist, the chief of the city police lives inside now.

That happened in Egypt, Maghreb, Lebannon, Irak, Iran, Yemen... It would be good to remember to all the pali lovers that jews were expelled too, and without any recognition or financial compensations from these arab states! why do these people only care about palestinians? I don't want nobody to cry for us, to the contrary of palestinians, we don't need other people mercy, we all built a new life, in Israel or in europe, but this truth must be known! because some ppl need to know what objectivity is..

[kamaz]

And people wonder why people blow themselves up in crowded buses.... While it is technically correct that they didn't "pay" rent... grievances like this.. especially unnecessary ones like this incident will just fan the flame of hate. **** like this adds up and eventually ****s gonna hit the fan.

this is the dumbest argument ive ever heard. So the palestinian man should be excempt from paying rent simply because he has 'grievances' and he is palestinian?

can someone run thru this logic again?

[kamaz]

this Guardian article has everything!

- palestinian man (obvious victim)
- hes disabled!
- evil Israeli land lords
- 'dubious' court ruling
- added ignorance of law and regional history
- 'settlers' GASP!