Israel Refuses to Evict Arab Squatters from Home

Israeli authorities, ignoring a court decision, have refused to evict Arab squatters from a Jewish-owned property in the nation's capital.

The police have refused to implement a court order to evict an Arab clan who had been living in a Jewish-owned home for more than 15 years. Instead, authorities said the elderly American Jewish owner must evict the family by himself or pay for police services.

"I was told not to go on my property by the police," Yitzhak Hershkowitz, the Jewish owner, said. "I paid them [bailiff services] but not enough. What's going on here? They're stealing my property and after I get a court decision I have to give them a reward for the legal act of trespass. In Los Angeles, if you are the owners of the house, they [the squatters] are evicted automatically by the police."

Authorities issued an eviction notice to the Arab family that contained a July 2 deadline. The house is located in Beit Safafa, a mostly Arab-populated neighborhood in southern Jerusalem. "The eviction must be implemented until July 2, 2007," the court order read. "The eviction will not be implemented by the police or bailiff services."

Supporters said Hershkowitz is the victim of a double standard practiced by Israeli authorities. They pointed to a massive police and military operation to evict Jews who claimed ownership to a home in the West Bank city of Hebron in 2006. At the time, the Supreme Court accepted the police claim that the deeds acquired by the Jews were fraudulent.

Police refused to discuss the Hershkowitz case or whether they demanded payment to carry out the eviction order. Instead, police said this was an issue for the Jerusalem municipality.

"I'm not familiar with the case," Jerusalem police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

The Jerusalem Municipality said it was not involved in evictions. A spokeswoman said this was a police matter.

"In general, this is the job of the police or the army," Jerusalem Municipality spokesperson Dassi Tenenbaum said. "They are not meant to get payment for this. As far as eviction orders are concerned, the municipality is not meant to carry out evictions."

In 1992, Hershkowitz, an immigrant from the United States, purchased the Beit Safafa property from a Jewish resident of Los Angeles. The resident was said to have acquired the property from an Armenian Christian in Beit Safafa in 1972.

Hershkowitz never gained entry to the property. Squatters from the Bedouin tribe of Tamra, based in the southern West Bank, claimed ownership to the property.

In 1993, Hershkowitz began legal proceedings. Eleven years later, Jerusalem Magistrates Court Judge Yitzhak Milanov ruled that the property belonged to Hershkowitz. The judge ordered the eviction of the Bedouins, members of the Salah clan, as well as back rent.

"The respondents have proved that they don't have any claim to the property and therefore an eviction order will be issued from the property and they will be obligated to pay appropriate rent and or other utilities," Milanov said in his decision.

Still, the police and the bailiff service have refused to evict the squatters, who now number 10 adults and 40 children. Hershkowitz said police told him they would station two officers, but would not interfere if the Bedouins resisted.

On July 2, Hershkowitz arrived with several supporters to evict the squatters. Police stopped the Jewish group and served Hershkowitz with a court order that delayed the eviction until July 5.

Hours later, the attorney for the Salah family obtained a court hearing scheduled for July 9. Hershkowitz said the attorney demanded $15,000 for his Bedouin clients to leave the house. The attorney, Mohammed Dahla, denied such an offer.

"Their attorney told me, 'I could make this case go on for years and years,'" Hershkowitz said.