עברית | العربية

Ein al- Jweize, al-Walaje

Update: On March 30, 2022, the Supreme Court met and ruled to freeze evictions in Al-Walaje for (for now) six months.

 

Update: In May 2020, the Supreme court ordered the District Planning Committee to hold a hearing
regarding the residents’ plan. A public hearing was held in June 2020 and then another internal
hearing was held in January 2021 after which a decision was published. The decision
rejects the residents’ plan and states that a new plan could be prepared under a series of
problematic conditions. A new SOS administrative petition against the decision was filed by
NRC, the village residents, Bimkom and NRC – as well as Israeli activists. In October 2021,
the administrative court ruled the District Committees’ decision cannot be considered
final. The Supreme Court is planned to convene on December 26, 2021, and a ruling on the principal petition currently protecting 38 homes is expected.

Watch these two NRC videos, and read our joint statement with Ir Amim for more information.

 

In February 2019, following many months of preparatory fieldwork, Bimkom submitted an expert opinion to support the ongoing legal struggle.

Al-Walaje is a Palestinian village split between the West Bank (areas B+C) and the Jerusalem Municipality. In recent years, there has been an increase in demolition orders and actual demolitions in the Jerusalem part of the village – known as Ein al-Jweize. Although some 40 homes are currently protected by an injunction, new demolition orders have been received after the proceedings began.

In February 2019, following many months of preparatory fieldwork, Bimkom submitted an expert opinion to support the ongoing legal struggle. The main aim of the court action is to protect homes by demanding the reconsideration of a plan prepared by the residents some 10 years ago. The expert opinion addresses the relevance of this old plan and the minor changes that would be necessary in order to continue its promotion. The opinion was submitted to the court as well as to the District Planning Bureau and as a result, the court hearing was postponed for six months – twice. This is significant because the injunction against actual demolitions remains intact with each delay. After the first delay, the State argued that the expert opinion was flawed without supplying any explanation as to why. The second delay was requested alongside a demand to clarify this position and a continued demand that the District Planning Committee hold a discussion as per continuing the promotion of the old plan.

For a link to the expert opinion (in Hebrew) – click here.