Sitting in their East Jerusalem living room, twins Muna and Mohammed Al Kurd talk about the legal battle their family has fought for years to hold on to a home that could soon be taken from them.
With an eviction order from an Israeli court looming, they and dozens of other Palestinians may soon be forced out of their contested neighbourhood.
“We’re caught up in this decades-long legal procedure that’s drained us psychologically; it’s drained us of our childhood,” says Mohammed, 22, who lives in the bungalow with his parents and three siblings.
The Al Kurds are among a dozen Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood facing legal proceedings. A third of them have been ordered to leave their homes this month.
Their street has become a flashpoint between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police, who this week have made multiple arrests as mounted officers and those in riot gear march through the neighbourhood.
The Al Kurd family has lived for generations in Sheikh Jarrah, which hosts European consulates and is a short walk from Jerusalem’s Old City, but the residents are up against legislation that privileges Jewish landowners from before the creation of Israel.
“My grandmother was made a refugee from Haifa and she came here, and I don’t think she was expecting another catastrophe,” says Muna, a freelance producer.
The siblings' grandparents were among 750,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes in 1948 when Israel was created. They reached East Jerusalem in the 1950s, which was then under Jordanian control, and were offered a newly built home as part of a state scheme for refugees.
Lying in a valley dotted with trees, the bungalow housed the family from Haifa, a northern coastal city, their six children and then grandchildren.
“It’s always been a very small and very full house,” says Mohammed, on a break from his master’s degree in New York.
Life in the neighbourhood was turned upside down by the 1967 war in which Israel took control of East Jerusalem and Jordan’s governance of the area come to an end.
Under Israel’s 1950 Absentees' Property Law, Palestinians who lost their homes during the 1948 conflict have no right to return to them.
“Around 2,000 Jews lost their homes in Jerusalem during that war, while around 35,000 Palestinians lost their homes in West Jerusalem,” says Hagit Ofran from Israeli NGO Peace Now.
The annexation of Palestinian land – in pictures
After Israeli forces took control of East Jerusalem nearly 20 years later, politicians enacted legislation that said Jews could reclaim properties in the city that they owned before the founding of Israel.
“That’s the discriminatory law,” says Ms Ofran, who specialises in Israeli settlement building in the Palestinian territories.
“We have a law from 1950 that says Palestinian refugees will not get their property, and we have a law from 1970, which says in East Jerusalem, Jews can get their property back."
With no legal right to return to the homes of their grandparents, Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah and other East Jerusalem neighbourhoods such as Silwan faced numerous court cases in recent decades.
Sami Irsheid, a lawyer representing Sheikh Jarrah residents, said the latest legal challenge began in 2009.
"Every few years they initiate proceedings against several families in order to evict them, because they didn't want to do this at the same time," he tells The National.
The court case against the Al Kurds and their neighbours began shortly after the Israeli authorities evicted three other families from the neighbourhood, Mr Irsheid said.
Those supporting the residents say the cases are initiated by settler organisations who aim to Judaise East Jerusalem, using documents that they claim prove historic ownership by Jews of land or property in the city.
Lawyers representing clients seeking to evict the Al Kurd family and other residents did not respond to repeated requests for comment by The National.
The case has brought Israeli, Palestinian and foreign protesters to Sheikh Jarrah, chanting “freedom” and calling for an end to the occupation of East Jerusalem.
The rallies are regularly accompanied by a heavy police presence, whose officers often set off stun grenades as they disperse demonstrators.
In one high-profile incident last month, which was condemned by Israeli legislators across the political spectrum, MP Ofer Cassif was punched in the head and wrestled to the ground by officers.
Recently, the authorities have used mounted police and a skunk lorry, which sprays foul-smelling liquid that can stick to the skin and hang in the air for days.
The Sheikh Jarrah legal proceedings are being followed by the UN, whose human rights experts said last month: “Such forced evictions leading to population transfers are strictly prohibited under international law.”
The International Criminal Court confirmed it received a letter from the residents, requesting that their case be included in the court’s investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories.
In Israeli courthouses, Palestinians have never won the right to home ownership in East Jerusalem, according to Peace Now.
Some have gained protected tenancy status, a temporary measure that allows them to stay put for a few more years.
“I think it’s good that we’re using the legal system because it buys us time in our homes, but I think ultimately this is a political thing. It’s a political game,” Mohammed says.
Four families, including the Al Kurds, were given a May 2 deadline to leave, but that date passed while the Supreme Court weighed up hearing the residents’ appeal.
“I want to be able to look back at this and say: 'If we were thrown out in the street, we were thrown out with our dignity',” Mohammed says, determined to continue campaigning against the eviction order.
With equal resolve, Muna says they will not walk away: “We always say that we won’t leave. Until the last moment, we will not leave.”
AGL AWARDS
Golden Ball - best Emirati player: Khalfan Mubarak (Al Jazira)
Golden Ball - best foreign player: Igor Coronado (Sharjah)
Golden Glove - best goalkeeper: Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah)
Best Coach - the leader: Abdulaziz Al Anbari (Sharjah)
Fans' Player of the Year: Driss Fetouhi (Dibba)
Golden Boy - best young player: Ali Saleh (Al Wasl)
Best Fans of the Year: Sharjah
Goal of the Year: Michael Ortega (Baniyas)
Four tips to secure IoT networks
Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:
- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version
- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number
- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently
- Always create a different guest network for visitors
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Company%20profile
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Roma 4
Milner (15' OG), Dzeko (52'), Nainggolan (86', 90 4')
Liverpool 2
Mane (9'), Wijnaldum (25')
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
DUBAI%20BLING%3A%20EPISODE%201
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UAE v IRELAND
All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi
1st ODI, Friday, January 8
2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10
3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12
4th ODI, Thursday, January 14
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs: 2018 Ford F-150
Price, base / as tested: Dh173,250 / Dh178,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 395hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 555Nm @ 2,750rpm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 12.4L / 100km
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.