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Jerusalem – Peace activists in Toronto may be protesting TIFF’s Tel Aviv Spotlight, but here in the Holy Land, the conflict drags on … The removal of families from East Jerusalem coming now almost seems like a challenge to the [U.S] president.

The case of the Hannoun family demonstrates the complexities. They have been living in this area, close to the Green Line separating East and West Jerusalem, since 1956, when the UN Relief and Works Agency made an agreement with the Jordanian government to build them housing.

Decades of legal fighting followed. A court ordered the Hannouns’ eviction following an appeal by Nahalat Shimon International, a Jewish settler group claiming ownership of land in Sheik Jarrah based on deeds from the Ottoman rule in the 1800s.

The official complaint was that the family did not pay rent. The Hannouns’ position is that paying rent means conceding their right to land they believe they legally own.

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NOW Magazine // News // Eviction notice: Canuck MPs monitoring the conflict wander onto one of Jerusalem’s battlegrounds By CARMELLE WOLFSON

my friend carmelle, who has been in jerusalem since this winter, has been writing more and more lately. i have a lot of respect for her.

(via garconniere)