friend of mine was in palestine & she took those photos plz share them with others

[eman refaat]

The Gawi and Hannoun families, consisting of 53 members including 20 children, have been left homeless after they were forcibly evicted from their houses on 2 August 2009. The Israeli forces surrounded the homes of the two families at 5.30am and, breaking in through the windows, forcefully dragged all residents into the street. The police also demolished the neighbourhood’s protest tent, set up by Um Kamel, following the forced eviction of her family in November 2008.

At present, all three houses are occupied by settlers and the whole area is patrolled by armed private settler security 24 hours a day. Both Hannoun and Gawi families, who have been left without suitable alternative accommodation since August, continue to protest against the unlawful eviction from the sidewalk across the street from their homes, facing regular attacks from the settlers and harassment from the police.

The Karm Al-Ja’ouni neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah is home to 28 Palestinian families, all refugees from 1948, who received their houses from the UNRWA and Jordanian government in 1956. All face losing their homes in the manner of the Hannoun, Gawi and al-Kurd families.

The aim of the settlers is to turn the whole area into a new Jewish settlement and to create a Jewish continuum that will effectively cut off the Old City form the northern Palestinian neighborhoods. Implanting new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal under many international laws, including Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Older Hanoun family members playing board-games on the side-walk late at night outside the occupied Hanoun house, just 1 minute walk away from the Ghawi family home.

On the right of this picture it says 'Trees die standing' and on the left, 'We will not leave'.

Israeli flag raised over Ghawi home

The universal symbol of the Displaced Person

Poster inside their tent

Ghawi kids playing outside their home, which is currently occupied by Israeli settlers, before they leave for school.

Abdullah waking his brother up to go to school

Abdallah getting ready for school

The family's water supply - for washing, cooking, etc...

2 year old Sara in the tent with her mother.

Little Sara unwell with a cold/caugh.

Bonfire from the night before to keep everyone warm

The Ghawi family watch as the Settlers come and go

Security guard on rotation to ensure the safety of the Settlers 24 hours a day

Police monitor the situation in Sheikh Jarrah

Sara sleeping. Sleeping area and car-park... all in the one space. How convenient?

Soon after this picture was taken, random arrests were made during the peaceful presence of internationals in support of the evicted families. Three internationals (including a Greek diplomat) and one Iserael Rabbi (from Rabbis for Human Rights) were arrested for taking photographs and not standing on the pavement when the police arrived. 

The Ghawi family's tent on the pavement outside their home in Sheikh Jarrah - this tent was errected as a form of protest against their eviction.

Ghawi kids asleep in their tent