Israel Court Freezes Eviction Order of Salem Family in Sheikh Jarrah

Fatima Salem (C) looks on as Sven Kuehn von Burgsdorff, head of the European Union's mission to the West Bank and Gaza Strip (R), speaks to the media during his visit to her home in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, December 20, 2021 AHMAD GHARABLI AFP/File
Fatima Salem (C) looks on as Sven Kuehn von Burgsdorff, head of the European Union's mission to the West Bank and Gaza Strip (R), speaks to the media during his visit to her home in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, December 20, 2021 AHMAD GHARABLI AFP/File
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Israel Court Freezes Eviction Order of Salem Family in Sheikh Jarrah

Fatima Salem (C) looks on as Sven Kuehn von Burgsdorff, head of the European Union's mission to the West Bank and Gaza Strip (R), speaks to the media during his visit to her home in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, December 20, 2021 AHMAD GHARABLI AFP/File
Fatima Salem (C) looks on as Sven Kuehn von Burgsdorff, head of the European Union's mission to the West Bank and Gaza Strip (R), speaks to the media during his visit to her home in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, December 20, 2021 AHMAD GHARABLI AFP/File

An Israeli court on Tuesday froze the planned eviction of a Palestinian family in the flashpoint east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, pending an appeal.

The Salem family had been ordered to surrender the property to Jewish settlers who have claimed ownership of the plot.

Lawyer Majd Ghanayem, who filed the appeal in the family's name, said the eviction procedures would be suspended temporarily.

He explained that the family was forced to deposit a financial guarantee of about $8,000 in the court's fund, which will be fined if the appeal fails.

The court's decision states that Salem's family will be allowed to keep the property for another few months.

Last month, Israel's Enforcement and Collection Authority ordered the Salem family to evict their home in the neighborhood.

In November, the Palestinian family received their eviction order with a deadline to vacate by March 1.

Tensions have been mounting this month in Sheikh Jarrah. Settlers, police officers, border guards, and special forces increased their attacks against the residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, including Salem's family.

The attacks resulted in property damage, multiple injuries, and arrests of Israeli and foreign activists.

Israeli officials admitted that this escalation aimed to deter the Palestinians from escalating their activities in Jerusalem and the West Bank, especially ahead of the upcoming Ramadan month.

The family of Fatima Salem has lived in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood for about 73 years and owns a house and a land lot next to it.

For several years, the family has suffered from the settlers' continuous attacks.

The family has a statement from the Jordanian authorities, which have been responsible for Jerusalem since 1948. But, in 1988, a court issued an eviction order, which it later froze.

In 2012, settlers re-opened the case to implement the court's decision under the Statute of Civil Limitation, which allows for the execution of the sentence up to 25 years from the date of its issuance. Three years later, the eviction was renewed again, which affected Fatima's husband who suffered a stroke, stayed in the hospital for six months, and died.

In the 2015 eviction order, the occupation authorities gave the Salem's until December 29, 2021, to vacate the house, but the date was postponed indefinitely after the family's attorney submitted a lawsuit to Israel's Enforcement and Collection Authority.

In the past years, Israeli groups intensified their attempts to seize as many homes as possible in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, and several settlers succeeded in taking Palestinians' properties.

Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood has gained international fame since the end of 2021, with global activists calling Israeli authorities to stop the displacement of Palestinian families from the homes they have resided in for decades.

US President Joe Biden's administration asked the Israeli government on February 16 to take steps to avoid further escalation in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, Israeli and US officials told Axios website.



Suspected US Airstrikes in Yemen Kill at Least 4 People Near Hodeidah

A man holds a rifle as protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to mark the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Sanaa, Yemen March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A man holds a rifle as protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to mark the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Sanaa, Yemen March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
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Suspected US Airstrikes in Yemen Kill at Least 4 People Near Hodeidah

A man holds a rifle as protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to mark the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Sanaa, Yemen March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
A man holds a rifle as protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to mark the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Sanaa, Yemen March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Suspected US airstrikes battered Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into Wednesday, with the militias saying that one strike killed at least four people near the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

The intense campaign of airstrikes in Yemen under US President Donald Trump, targeting the militias over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters stemming from the Israel-Hamas war, has killed at least 65 people, according to casualty figures released by the Houthis.

The campaign appears to show no signs of stopping as the Trump administration again linked their airstrikes on the Iranian-backed Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. While so far giving no specifics about the campaign and its targets, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt put the overall number of strikes on Tuesday at more than 200.

“Iran is incredibly weakened as a result of these attacks, and we have seen they have taken out Houthi leaders,” Leavitt said. “They’ve taken out critical members who were launching strikes on naval ships and on commercial vessels and this operation will not stop until the freedom of navigation in this region is restored.”

Overnight, a likely US airstrike targeted what the Houthis described as a “water project” in Hodeidah governorate's Mansuriyah District, killing four people and wounding others. Other strikes into Wednesday targeted Hajjah, Saada and Sanaa governorates, the militias said.