RAMALLAH, West Bank — Jerusalemites were dealt a distressing blow Oct. 4 as settlers took over a three-story house of 500 square meters (5,382 square feet) that the Joudeh al-Husseini family owned in Aqaba Darwish in the Old City of Jerusalem. This came one day after the pro-settler Elad organization took over a dwelling in Wadi Hilweh quarter of Silwan neighborhood, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which the US-based Fatiha family owned.

The transfer of the Joudeh al-Husseini house to settlers prompted Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah to announce at the Oct. 9 Cabinet meeting “the formation of a committee to inquire into the case and hold the involved parties accountable.” He did not, however, specify its formation and operational dates or the parties partaking in the committee.

This case has attracted wide interest in the Palestinian territories, particularly since it is located in a strategic spot in the Old City and is close to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Al-Watan local newspaper quoted Adeeb Joudeh al-Husseini as saying Oct. 4 that this has been an ongoing saga since 2013, when his family decided to put the house up for sale. Back then, Fadi al-Salameen, a US-based Palestinian activist, offered to pay $2.5 million for the house. Although the purchase contract was signed, the Palestinian Authority (PA) interfered and seized Salameen’s bank funds for being related to dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan. Salameen failed to pay the installments, which thwarted the deal in 2016, Joudeh al-Husseini said.