Palestinian rejects ‘tempting offers’ to vacate house in East Jerusalem

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM - (AA) - Palestinian Abdel Fattah Eskafi remains steadfast in fending off 'tempting offers' for his house despite being handed lucrative proposals by Israeli settlers to leave his home in occupied the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
The “temptations,” Eskafi told Anadolu Agency, include a $5 million cash offer, as dozens of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah continue to suffer harassment from Israeli authorities and illegal settlers to have all Palestinians leave their homes amid an ongoing court battle.
An Israeli court ruling in January to evict seven Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah sparked fierce clashes between Palestinians and Israelis in Palestinian territories in May.
The dispute stems from the events of 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forcefully evicted from their homes and lands -- a tragedy Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or Catastrophe.
Eskafi’s family was among 28 families that settled in Sheikh Jarrah in 1956 under an agreement with the Jordanian government, which ruled the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, before its occupation in 1967, and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
Israeli settlement associations, however, claim the homes were built on land that was owned by Jews before 1948 -- a claim that is vehemently rejected by Palestinians.
In October, the Israeli Supreme Court offered Palestinians to remain as "tenants" in their homes for 15 years.
According to the proposal submitted to Palestinian families and a settlement association, they will be recognized as "protected tenants" for 15 years or until another arrangement is reached.
During that period, those residing in homes who are threatened with expulsion will pay rent to the Nahalat Shimon settler organization, which claims ownership of the land where the homes were built.
Unsurprisingly, Palestinian families rejected the offer, arguing it implied acknowledging settlers' ownership of the homes.

-Constant fear

Eskafi is worried that his family will be displaced for a second time since the Nakba.
"My family has been displaced since 1948. We used to live in Baqa'a (on the outskirts of West Jerusalem) and we came to East Jerusalem," he told Anadolu Agency.
Eskafi said his 130-square-meter (1,399-square-foot) house is home to 14 people, including his children and grandchildren.
"Our house is still there and is inhabited by Jews, but if you go there, they will bring you the police," he said.

The actual eviction of families from their homes began in 2008 when the al-Kurd family was expelled in a procedure repeated in 2009 with the al-Ghawi and Hanun families.
Since then, Eskafi’s family and other Palestinian families have been in constant fear that a similar fate will befall them.
According to Eskafi, the problem started in 1972 when Jewish groups alleged ownership of the lands of the 28 families.
In 1972, the Sephardic Committee, an Israeli settler association, and the Knesset Committee of Israel claimed they owned land and houses since 1885. They said they had procured documents of ownership from Ottoman officials when they were ruling Palestine.
But Eskafi said Palestinian families’ lawyers found the documents were forged.
"There is a Turkish document that denies the Jews' ownership of this land, and there is a Koshan (proof of ownership document) in the name of Suleiman Darwish Hijazi, which indicates that this land belongs to the Hijazi family," he noted but said Israeli courts have rejected documents submitted by Palestinian families.
"The harassment continues. We were living a happy life, but at the time we lost three buildings in 2008 and 2009 and settlers settled in them, problems and suffering began, as they used all kinds of dirty and non-dirty harassment against us, including disturbances and attempts to displace and beat children and youth," said Eskafi.
Next to his house is one that was taken over by settlers.
But he said neighborly relations do not exist between the two families as they fear each other.

- Tempting offers

Eskafi said offers for his house continue.

"Offers have been going on since the 1970s, and they are still offering. They tell us they want our house and warn us that they will have it in the end,” he said. "They offered us a plot of either land in another area of the city or two apartments, or 4 to 5 million US dollars, and even more.
But Eskafi said he remains defiant and will keep his house at all costs.
"Of course, this is unacceptable. For them, money is not a problem, and they offer a blank check in exchange for vacating the house. We do not want money … we are here and we will not go out," he said.
Although Eskafi admits he is worried about the unknown, he is ready for the challenge to stay as a family in Sheikh Jarrah.
"As a family, no one will neglect Sheikh Jarrah,” he said. “We will cling to it until our last breath."

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar