Israel Land Fund to continue building in Sheikh Jarrah

After Supreme Court ruling denying Palestinian ownership of land, Jerusalem activist Aryeh King says Arabs should "show gratitude" to Jews.

By LAHAV HARKOV
sheikh jarrah jewish house 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
sheikh jarrah jewish house 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Israel Land Fund founder Aryeh King announced on Tuesday that we should expect Jewish building plans in Sheikh Jarrah.
King explained that "court decisions have prevented the owners from using land they owned for almost ten years. Now that things have changed, we'll be able to begin building."
The Supreme Court ruled on Sunday that Palestinians failed to prove ownership of a plot of land in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, springing activists to action on Tuesday.
Sunday's ruling by Justices Yoram Danziger, Esther Hayut and Miriam Naor rejected the appeal, saying that the complainants did not bring evidence proving that the custodian general, Jerusalem Municipality and others do not own the property.
King said that the Arab families appealing for ownership would have had to leave the building anyway, as their lease had ended.
"I hope the Arabs will act like human beings and hand over the property that they rented all these years without harming the owners," King said. "I expect them to show gratitude to the people who let them rent the property."
King expressed hope that more Jewish landowners will use follow this precedent. "We will try to convince them to sue Arabs for large amounts of money, because they have caused a lot of harm to the landowners."
On Monday, the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity group, which organizes weekly protests against the evacuation of Arab families, demonstrated outside the Jerusalem Municipality succa in Kikar Safra. About 50 activists held up signs protesting the mayor's policies; two protesters were taken for questioning by police.
In reaction to the Sheikh Jarrah activists, King said "left-wing anarchist extremists are always looking for a reason to protest."