Palestinians facing eviction from homes in the Sheik Jarrah neighbourhood of Jerusalem have rejected an Israeli court’s compromise offer according to a statement posted on Twitter. 

In the statement, Mohammed El-Kurd, an activist that is part of the affected families said:”We rejected the “proposal” by the “Israeli Supreme Court’ which would have rendered us ‘ protected tenants’ at the mercy of settler organisations. We stand firm in our refusal to compromise on our rights despite the lack of institutional guarantees that would protect our presence as Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem. “

Going on, he blamed the Israeli judiciary for creating “the illusion of the ball in our court” and said that the families’ ‘Nakba’ must end. 

The compromise would have seen the families guaranteed residency until at least 2036 and be given protected status, but also have to pay rent to Jewish group Nahalat Shimon who have been on the other side of the contentious legal battle.  The Palestinian families currently facing eviction from the homes would receive recognition as protected tenants, giving them the right to pass this status down two further generations. They would also be guaranteed the right to prove their ownership of the properties.

The Supreme Court Justices recommended that the Palestinians would pay a nominal rent of around £500 a year to Nahalat Shimon group. According to the proposal: “Each family will deposit yearly rent of 2,400 shekels in the account of the counsel of the Nahalat Shimon Co. The payment will be deposited every year in advance beginning January 1, 2020 and every January 1 thereafter.”

The legal fight over Sheikh Jarrah has lasted decades and began in 1867 when Jews bought property in the area before being evicted by Jordanians in 1948.  

In May of this year, tensions over the threat of evictions reaching boiling point leading to a war between Israel and Hamas terrorists based in Gaza that saw thousands of rockets fired into Israel over a 15 day period.