Israel expands presence in East Jerusalem after ending dispute over building

Israel expands presence in East Jerusalem after ending dispute over building

2010-11-25 01:32:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) -- Israel has expanded its presence in East Jerusalem after ending a five-year dispute over a building and evacuating its Arab occupants.

The sixteen residents and their belongings were evacuated from the three-story building by representatives of the Bailiff’s Office and police officers. The evacuation ended a five-year conflict between Lowell Investments Ltd. And the Karaite family.

Lowell Investments bought the building located in the Jebl Mukaber neighborhood from the Karaite family that was residing there. However, the family refused to leave later claiming that the sale was invalid for many reasons including that the transaction was closed by only one brother who does not represent the entire family.

The dispute reached court which eventually ruled that the family must be removed from the three-apartment property. The claims were also filed after local residents noticed that the buyers were working fro the Elad foundation.

Such organization is involved in setting Jewish families in East Jerusalem in an effort from the Israeli government to overcome the Arab majority in the region. The Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement said that it recognized members of the Elad foundation among the Lowell representatives during the eviction.

"The new settlement is without doubt meant to worsen the tensions between Washington and Jerusalem," said a spokesperson of the solidarity movement. "The residents of Jerusalem will pay the price for this despicable cooperation between the fundamentalist wing of the settlers’ movement and the Jerusalem Police."

A spokesperson for Elad said that their involvement with the purchase was limited to advising Lowell Investments in the transaction. Lowell informed that it plans to rent or sell the apartments to a third party but did not mention if the apartments will be available for all people or exclusively for Jewish residents.

Israel is supporting the establishment of Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem in order to expand their presence in the Palestinian neighborhoods in the area. East Jerusalem has long been the target of such efforts as the oldest ruins in the city lie under this area.

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