OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Israeli occupation police have forcibly evicted three Palestinian families from their homes in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood of Silwan, located just south of the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem.
According to local sources, the families were forced out on Sunday evening in favor of the settler organization “Ateret Cohanim.”
The Jerusalem Governorate confirmed in a statement that the eviction affected Um Nasser al-Rajabi and her sons, including her son Nasser al-Rajabi, who was forced to leave his home along with his family.
Emergency responders also transferred Awad al-Rajabi, a 29-year-old man who is in a coma, as well as his 24-year-old daughter who lives with disabilities. The eviction also included citizen Aed al-Rajabi and his family.
The statement highlighted that the eviction is part of an ongoing policy of forced displacement in Batn al-Hawa. Since June 2024, Israeli forces have carried out 13 home evictions in the neighborhood.
Zuheir al-Rajabi, head of the Batn al-Hawa committee, warned that the Kayed al-Rajabi building is under imminent threat, with Israeli authorities setting January 5, 2026, as the final deadline to enforce more eviction orders.
He added that the Israeli Supreme Court is currently reviewing five legal cases, including 26 homes inhabited by approximately 250 people, awaiting decisions on their appeals.
Al-Rajabi also pointed out that Israeli authorities and settler groups continue to push unverified ownership claims to justify evictions, raising growing concerns over expanded displacement.
The settler organization “Ateret Cohanim” bases its claims on the alleged Jewish ownership of about 5.2 dunums (approx. 1.3 acres) of land in Batn al-Hawa since 1881. These legal battles began in 2015 and have dragged dozens of Palestinian families into prolonged court struggles.
Batn al-Hawa, located only about 400 meters from the Aqsa Mosque and home to around 10,000 Palestinian residents, remains one of the most targeted neighborhoods in Silwan, as part of Israeli efforts to expand settlement control around the Mosque and link settler outposts throughout the area.
