Israel high court suspends Palestinians' evictions for now

Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that Palestinian families slated for eviction from their east Jerusalem homes can remain for the time being

TEL AVIV, Israel -- Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a group of families slated for eviction from a flashpoint east Jerusalem neighborhood could remain in their homes for the time being.

The ruling could work to ease tensions in the neighborhood, which helped ignite the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza last year.

The court ruled that the families could stay in their homes for now until Israel carried out a land arrangement, a process that could take years or may not be carried out at all, according to Ir Amim, an advocacy group that was not involved in the court case.

Dozens of Palestinian families in east Jerusalem are at risk of eviction by Jewish settler organizations, and thousands face the threat of demolition because of discriminatory policies that make it extremely difficult for Palestinians to build new homes or expand existing ones.