The court also ordered the Palestinians to pay an annual symbolic rent, until the Israeli justice ministry which the court has tasked with resolving the ownership issue reaches a final decision

The families have been living in Sheikh Jarrah in the occupied East Jerusalem for generations. Now these families are facing evictions so the land can be cleared

The Israeli supreme court had offered the Palestinians ‘protected tenants’ status in exchange for them recognizing temporary Jewish ownership of their homes and paying a symbolic rent to the Israeli settler organization involved in the so-called ‘property dispute’ in Sheikh Jarrah

The court offered the Palestinians a compromise deal as per which Palestinians could live in their homes for the next three generations in exchange for accepting Jewish ownership of the land and paying token rent

The ongoing demolitions of close to 20 Palestinian-owned homes and commercial establishments in the Silwan neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem have put at risk approximately 13 Palestinian families, including 130 men, women and children