Court postpones hearing in Palestinian eviction case in Silwan

A court postpones a hearing in a case that could see two Palestinian families expelled from their homes in East Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood so Jewish settlers can move in, their lawyer says.

The delayed hearing on the dispute comes less than three weeks after a similar case in the city’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood sparked unrest that set the stage for the 11-day armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas that rules Gaza.

Today’s court session was delayed after the Palestinian families petitioned the attorney general to weigh in on the matter, their lawyer Yazeed Qawaar says.

“Such a public case must include the opinion of the attorney general,” he says. “It’s obvious that the government was supporting the settler project and therefore it’s up to the attorney general to take the responsibility.”

He says the families are now waiting for a decision — possibly within the next week — on whether the Jerusalem district court will refer the file to the attorney general.