An Israeli court Wednesday postponed a hearing in a case that could see 86 Palestinian families expelled from their homes in Batn al-Hawa, east Jerusalem's Silwan district.
Head of the Committee for the Defense of Silwan Fakhri Abu Diyad said that the court was not able to issue a ruling in favor of the settlers thanks to the recent protests against the forced expulsions in Sheikh Jarrah.
He stressed that the decision to “evict” the families from their houses in favor of the settlers is politically motivated.
According to AFP, Wednesday's court session was delayed after the Palestinian families petitioned the attorney general to weigh in on the matter, their lawyer Yazeed Qawaar said.
"Such a public case must include the opinion of the attorney general," he said.
"It's obvious that the government was supporting the settler project and therefore it's up to the attorney general to take the responsibility."
He said the families were now waiting for a decision -- possibly within the next week -- on whether or not the Jerusalem district court would refer the file to the top prosecutor.
Around 700 Palestinians in the Batn al-Hawa area of Silwan on a hill south of Jerusalem's Old City risk displacement under such forced eviction cases, Israeli anti-occupation group Peace Now says.
