A settler group has asked a court to evict twoadditional Palestinian families from land it claims ownership to in theSheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem, according to media reports Wednesday.
In a petition filed with the Jerusalem Magistrate's CourtTuesday, the Nahalat Shimon organization claimed the Palestinians were illegaltenants and demanded that they “immediately clear the property of all individualsand belongings.”
Overthe past six months Sheikh Jarrah has become a point of contention between Jewish settlers, who want to build houses forJews in the predominantly Arab neighborhood, and Palestinians and theirsupporters.
Hatim Abdulqader, a Fatah official charged with the Jerusalem portfolio, wasquoted by the Arab News Web site as saying that the families would refuseto leave the property.
"New occupiers from abroad are accommodating themselvesand their belongings in the Palestinian houses and the evicted Palestinianswill have nowhere to sleep,” he said.
Nahalat Shimon claims ownership to property inSheikh Jarrah on behalf of the Sephardic Community Committee, which purchased land in the area in the early 20th century.