"The dome of the al-Aqsa mosque gleamed in the late afternoon autumnal sun as Zohair Rajabi looked out from his balcony towards the skyline of Jerusalem's Old City. Christian pilgrims spilled out of buses, while observant Jewish worshippers gathered outside the gate to the Western Wall. New flags now fly a few metres from Rajabi's home. Blue and white and bearing the Star of David, they mark where residents were evicted recently from their homes by Israeli police."
"Rajabi has lived in Batn al-Hawa all his life. His home is a rambling four-storey house built on land bought by his grandfather in 1965. His brothers and mother live on different floors, with many children. Two of his relatives are severely disabled. All will have to move if Rajabi's request to make a final legal appeal to Israeli courts is rejected, as all in Batn al-Hawa expect."
Zohair Rajabi and his extended family face imminent eviction from their four-storey home in Batn al-Hawa, a predominantly Palestinian neighbourhood south of Jerusalem's Old City. New Israeli flags mark recently evicted properties nearby, and residents expect a court decision to confirm further removals. Rajabi's family includes many children and two severely disabled relatives who will need to relocate if a final legal appeal fails. Rightwing Israeli organisations, including Ateret Cohanim, have long targeted Batn al-Hawa to consolidate Israeli control and restore Jewish presence in areas seized after the 1967 war.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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