Sheikh Jarrah: The Facts

Section:

---
URL: https://www.camera.org/article/sheikh-jarrah-the-facts/
type: post-weblog
title: 'Sheikh Jarrah: The Facts'
abstract: A long-simmering controversy over the fate of Jewish-owned land and Palestinian
  tenants in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem has once again become frontpage
language: en-US
title-short: Sheikh Jarrah
container-title: CAMERA
---

is an article summarizing facts of the Sheikh Jarrah eviction case in Israel. It was written by Alex Safian and published by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA).

## Land Ownership

### 1876 Acquisition

[In 1876 Jews bought etc |  In 1876 Jews bought Simon’s Tomb and an adjacent field of 18 dunams from Arab owners]. In 1876 Jews acquired the land under dispute [@Tx355A12].

### Post 1948

[taken by the Jordanian Custodian | Ownership of much of the Jewish land taken by the Jordanian Custodian was transferred to the Jordanian government]. In the 1948 War of Independence, the land was taken over by the Jordanian Custodian.

[leased the land | leased the land]. In 1956, the Jordanian Custodian leased the land to the Jordanian Ministry of Development who then built homes for Palestinian refugees. The refugees were tenants paying rent to the Jordanian Custodian.

### 1967

[and then by the Israeli Custodian after 1967 | and then by the Israeli Custodian after 1967]. Following Israel's victory in the Six-Day War, possession of the land transferred from the Jordanian Custodian to the Israeli Custodian. Most of the land originally purchased in 1876 had been sold off by the Jordanian Custodian, but the Sheikh Jarrah property was exceptional in that it [was not | as it continued to be held in trust for the Jewish owners by the Jordanian Custodian, and then by the Israeli Custodian after 1967].

### Today

[have to pay rent | have to pay rent]. Today the land is owned by Jews who purchased or reclaimed the land from the Israeli Custodian. The Palestinians living there [do not dispute this | the lawyer representing the Palestinian families did not dispute the Jewish ownership of the land]. For various reasons, however, the tenants continue to refuse to pay. Therefore, the private Jewish land owners--[not the Israeli government | It must be stressed also that this is a civil dispute over ownership rights and rent, and the Israeli government is not a party to the litigation] are seeking to evict these tenants.

## Reference