Police evict Palestinian family from disputed Jerusalem home

JERUSALEM – Israeli police have removed a Palestinian family from a long contested home in an east Jerusalem neighbourhood.

Officers evicted the Siyyam family from the premises on Wednesday after an Israeli court ruled in favour of Elad, an Israeli group working to strengthen the Jewish presence in east Jerusalem.

June’s ruling by the Jerusalem District Court was the latest episode in a 30-year legal saga surrounding the ownership of the property in Silwan, a Palestinian neighbourhood where Elad operates the City of David, an archaeological site and tourist attraction. Elad says it legally bought the property.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it in a move unrecognized by the international community. The Palestinians seek the area as the capital of a future state.