Palestinians in East Jerusalem face forced evictions and home demolitions by Israeli authorities
The Israeli Response
Critics of Israel present the eviction out of context and distort the facts
The Israeli government has not decided to evict anyone in such disputes.
It is private parties, rather than the government of Israel, that have brought their claims to court.
Landowners have exercised their private rights to evict overstaying tenants by winning a court eviction order.
Only the homes of terrorists, who have forfeited their rights for property by murdering Jews, have been demolished by Israel.
These distortions intentionally misrepresent the justice system in Israel.
Where does international law stand?
It requires upholding the property rights of all citizens regardless of ethnicity.
“Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights)
None of the laws of belligerent occupation forbid enforcing private property rights of landlords ordered by the court.
By the same token, international law prohibits disregarding the property owners’ lawful rights due to their Jewish ethnicity.
Critics of Israel take a bigoted position by demanding that property rights should depend on ethnicity, which is exactly what Israel is being accused of.
The most famous example is the ‘Sheikh Jarrah controversy’
Tennants of several properties whose leases have expired were sued by their landlords and were evicted by court orders.
In some cases, Palestinians illegally occupied apartments they do not own.
Pro-Palestinian supporters organized protests in the streets and called for an immediate ‘stop to ethnic cleansing’.
It is very clear that if Jewish tenants had stopped paying rent or overstayed in Palestinian property, such pro-palestinian “humanitarians” would demand their eviction.
The claim that property rights of Jews must be disregarded while Palestinian property rights must be upheld or even enhanced has no basis in the law and is morally reprehensible.
