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.
