JERUSALEM (JTA) — Eviction notices were served to two more Palestinian families in an eastern Jerusalem neighborhood.
Two families in Sheikh Jarrah were ordered Saturday to vacate their homes within 45 days, Haaretz reported.
The orders were served by an Israeli law firm and delivered practically on the eve of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled meeting with President Obama, which was canceled later in the wake of the rioting aboard a Gaza-bound ship in which nine international activists were killed.
The notices threatened the Palestinian residents of the homes with fines and legal action, according to Haaretz. The families were ordered to pay seven years of back rent and threatened with a fine of about $100 a day if they remain in the homes past the eviction date.
The homes flank another house purchased nearly a year ago by a Jewish organization. All three homes reportedly were owned by Jews before the 1948 War of Independence. The homes are now owned by American businessman Irving Moskovitz.
