Ban 'dismayed' at East Jerusalem eviction of Palestinian family

Dear Judith. Arabs in general are not guilty for what some dictators did with Jewish and Karaite property in the Arabworld. I am not, my kids are not and not either my future grandkids.Collective guilt and collective responsibility is totally outdated in our days. Are you guilty for what individual Jews have done wrong in past times ? Of course not. Can you imagine how much Arab property in terms of land, estate and money has been expropriated from wealthy Arabs and big families from the very same dictators ? Cut out the collective guilt - please !

I am sure plenty of people were dismayed when Bosnian women were being raped in the thousands, men were sent to concentration camps, people got killed in the thousands in East Timor, and ethnic cleansing happens all the time by a people whose grandparents fled fasicsm and their grandchildren now implement fascist policies against the Palestinians and then talk about being a democracy. If this is democratic, civilized behavior, then I have some amazing propery on Mars to sell you.

Onlooker, During the Ottoman Empire, most private land was owned by Turks or Greeks, the two wealthiest groups in the Empire. Arabs owned very little since Arabs were feudal serfs who worked the land of others. Deserts, swamps, forests, hills and mountains were owned by the state. The Arabs claimed that these lands were owned 'in common' but there was no recognition of this by the Ottomans. There were feudal 'rights' to graze animals or plant olives but no deeds were written. The Turks and Greeks were absentee owners under Israeli Law. As for this part of Jerusalem, most of Sheikh Jarrah were owned by Yemenite Jews who were expelled by the Jordanians in 1948. The International community simply doesn't want to recognize any claims by Jews beyond the Green Line. Up to now, Israel has recognized the original owners but stated that the Pal families have a right to permanent tenantship. On this basis, the Pals see no need to pay rent.

Israeli human rights violations keep mounting. Nothing within the context of any religious faith or human values can justify Israel's actions. Palestine needs the support of world leaders to take positive, nonviolent action in declaring Palestine's independence and ultimately its autonomy from Israel. It is time to end the occupation and the Israeli excesses. It is also time to restore a just peace for the Palestinians. The EU, Russia, China and even the USA can help a just peace happen, but it will not be assisted by Israel.

"Why aren`t you crying about the billions of dollars of art, money and property never returned to Jewish owners in Europe." Wasn't what you were talking about..and what has that to do with the Palestinians and Israel's illegal activities? " my family never received anything for land in Slovakia.Different rules for different people? " No... What has that to do with the Palestinians and Israel's illegal activities? "The whole world is guilty of that" No... The guilty are guilty.

They don't own the place. The land was acquired from the palestinians in the war of 1967, a move that was never recognized by the international community. The palestinians living their rightfully own the land. Israel is imposing itself on them quite unfairly. When are people going to stand up for what's right?

Why aren't you crying about the billions of dollars of art, money and property never returned to Jewish owners in Europe. my family never received anything for land in Slovakia.Different rules for different people? The whole world is guilty of that.

The Un Secretary-General is absolutely right to be dismayed by the eviction of a Palestinian family for not having a proper permit to construct an addition onto their house. Sadly, this sort of ruling does nothing but prove that justice in the Israeli holy land is a sham at best and racist at worst. I hope things can change.

all Arabs in general responsible of thefts of Jewish property in the Arab World ? Is there a general responsibility ? Am I responsible for the atrocities commited against Jews by different dicators in the Arab world ? My kids too ? My future grandkids ? Is Judith personally responsible for the fraud of mr Madoff ? Is there collective guilt to be put on every single Jew, including Judith, for the relatively high proportion of Jewish slave-traders in Medieval Europe ? Hey Judith, calm down and try to get reasonable in your arguments.

Actually the claims on the land are proven by archeology that shows our existence in this. We were here a 1000 years before any Arabs ever came here. "Palestine" was a name given by the Romans. Basically you have no idea what you're talking about...go research factual history and not fantast propaganda. And the courts ruling against the "Palestinans" is not "common" as you say. How naive to think that simply becuase it was reported and noise is being made you then translate that as "common". You're ignorant, naive, and delusional.

There is a word for this--ethnic cleansing. And last I heard, it is illegal under international law. Until every Palestinian refugee who was expelled in 1948 is allowed to reclaim their homes and lands inside of Israel, no Jew should be allowed to make similar claims in Jerusalem. So when is Israel going to allow Palestinians to reclaim their rightful property in Haifa, Jaffa, Lod, Lydda, etc. and evict the new Jewish occupants???

There seems to be a gathering speed in the Isreali state policy of gradually evicting non-Jews from East Jerusalem. Perhaps there is an urgency because they see a settlement coming and they want facts on the ground. The irony is that many of these Jews are Americans who are getting free or sudsidised housing. The Palestinians get thrown out on the street, and they have lived in these areas for countless generations. They have a Lodz to go to however. Its called Gaza.

Real estate is measured in current prices . The rest of your misleading tantrum does not warrant an answer . Parroting does not equal thinking .

double standard for those who does not know what is he talking about , like for instance , YOU .

The 3000 year of history is just the reason for the desire to buy there not in New York or any other place . And this is the reason my children paid , and I am going to pay soon a lot of real current dollars to buy a home in Israel . History is the reason , but the money is real .

no one can honestly be that stupid ? courts order evictions every day worldwide !!

Cataclysmic events in Africa--mass murder, rape, displacement, hunger, and mutilation--are not cause for dismay. But the eviction of one tenant in Jerusalem is. Did suicide bombings with mass casualties in Israel (within the "green line") cause him dismay? If so, he did not say. Do hideous human rights violations in all parts of the world dismay him? No.

illegal for Israel to break the Geneva Conventions, UNSC Resolutions. Even the Declaration of a Jewish State has been dissed "....will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. "

"Perhaps they are trying to show that Israel is Jewish and that any attempt to "right of return" by Palestinians will be returned in kind." It's not Israeli territory. " I think it`s symbolic more than anything else." Uh huh. Very real to the people dispossessed. " Maybe the Arabs should think about Jewish claims to stolen property all over the Muslim world before they beg for right of return." What claims? A refugee who takes up citizenship in a new country forgoes all claims. " Billions of dollars of Jewish property was stolen on all of North Africa and parts of the Middle East" Which has what to do with the Palestinians?

TALMUD

My mother got $200 for 6 acres of land in Hungary and yes or no was not an option,nor was it in anyway its true value. so can someone explain how i can find somebody in the UN who actually gives a damn? im jewish so probably not. sudan civilans are dying as well as many flashpoints on earth and they are busy with one family in east jerusalem what does that say about them?

Dismayed? High Court made a decision and as such what Ban has to do with it?. I tell you what, I ban Mr.Ban to interfere in internal matters of State of Israel. I know it is fasionable to bash Israel but you better spend your time paying attention to Africa where daily genocides and babies rapes are every day occurances.. or maybe in his own back yard N.Korea where people are starving...

The catholic church has had to "purchase" historic Christian sites over, and over, and over from successive Islamic overseers, for about 1300 hundred years. Jews have been buying property in Israel for over 150 years regardless of their claim to historic land. It's about time the Israeli courts have said enough and booted out the squatters. The legal owners have waited decades. Enough of the liberal drivel about rusted keys and we've been here longer.

'Billions of dollars of Jewish property was stolen on all of North Africa and parts of the Middle East' Are you serious? that’s assuming that property prices in the Middle East and North Africa at the time were exponentially high, which seems unlikely since these areas of the world languished in poverty for a long time and only now seem to be reviving, and there are only 15 million-ish Jewish people in the world, and not all of them have roots in North Africa and the ME- aah what’s the point you seem intent on promoting your hyperbole. In regards to the facts of this article, in some ways it’s good to see the courts carry out their rulings, yet it’s certainly enlightening to know that rulings against Palestinians are so common and carried out, Jews and Arabs are treated completely different- Israel can never be called 'the only democracy in the Middle East' it’s a Theocracy that justifies killing and stealing based on a fictitious 'Holy Book'

Would Ban be dismayed if a Jewish property owner's tenant refused to pay the rent? Guess not.

Dosn't Ban have enough world problems on his plate then to be "dismayed" over the residents of a house in Israel?

Perhaps they are trying to show that Israel is Jewish and that any attempt to "right of return" by Palestinians will be returned in kind. I think it's symbolic more than anything else. Maybe the Arabs should think about Jewish claims to stolen property all over the Muslim world before they beg for right of return. Billions of dollars of Jewish property was stolen on all of North Africa and parts of the Middle East.

Why is it ok to drive Palestinians from their homes, but so horrible to stop settlers from moving into the West Bank? Why is it ok to honour "old housing agreements" for Jews but not Pal refugees? There seems to be a HUGE double standard in Israel

"Yes, its very sad when people have to be evicted, but the "settlers" actually own the place." Yes according to a 3000 yr story.

Good to know Israeli Supreme Court honors old deeds Of the entire area of the state of Israel only about 300,000-400,000 dumums ... are state domain which the Israeli government took over from the mandatory regime 2 percent. The JNF and private Jewish owners possess under two million dumum 10 percent. Almost all the rest i.e 88 percent of the 20,225,000 dunums within the 1949 armistice linesbelongs at law to Arab owners, many of whom have left the country.(Jewish National Fund, Jewish Villages in Israel, p.xxi, quoted in Lehn and Davis, The Jewish National Fund)

Yes, its very sad when people have to be evicted, but the "settlers" actually own the place. My local Swiss newspaper also reports on evictions, mainly of foreigners of course, but it doesn't get to the UN. Be reasonable.

Statement by Richard Miron, Spokesperson for the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry Jerusalem, 01 December 2009 "The Secretary General has expressed his dismay at the continuation of demolitions, evictions and the installment of Israeli settlers in Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem. Provocative actions such as these create inevitable tensions, undermine trust, often have tragic human consequences and make resuming negotiations and achieving a two state solution more difficult. We reiterate the Secretary General's call for these actions to cease immediately." Note: This statement was delivered earlier today to the press in Sheikh Jarrah outside the house that was occupied by settlers.