Israel Pauses Sheikh Jarrah Evictions

Israel's Supreme Court temporarily suspended the evictions of several Palestinian families from homes in an East Jerusalem neighborhood this week.

📅 A brief timeline… The disagreement over property in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood is often described as a microcosm of the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

• Pre-1948: The houses in question were built on land in East Jerusalem owned by a Jewish community trust.
• Post-1948: Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, East Jerusalem was controlled by Jordan, which settled Palestinian refugees in houses on the property.
• 1967: Israel took control of East Jerusalem and annexed it in the Six-Day War (a move not recognized by most of the international community). The Palestinian residents in Sheikh Jarrah were allowed to stay on as protected tenants if they paid rent to its new Jewish owners, but many families refused on principle.
• 1972–2021: The property dispute played out in the Israeli courts on a house-by-house basis, with dozens of Palestinians evicted starting in 2002.
• May 2021: Palestinian protests ahead of an expected Supreme Court decision on Sheikh Jarrah wound up escalating into an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza; as a result, Israel’s Supreme Court postponed its ruling until this week.

👀 Looking ahead… The stay of eviction is in effect while Israel's government further assesses the property’s ownership – a process that could take years, if it gets settled at all. In the meantime, the families will pay a largely symbolic rent amounting to $62 per month.