Jewish settlers took over a Palestinian house on Monday in the east Jerusalem district of Silwan after its owner allegedly “leaked” it to the “Ateret Cohanim” settler group.

The house which belonged to a Palestinian citizen called Moataz Halisi is one of two apartments located in the Bab al-Maghariba area in Silwan according to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center

A number of settlers stormed the house under police escort in the morning and embarked on installing security cameras around it as well as protective bars for its windows and barbed wire for its walls.

Last year settlers seized many Palestinian homes in Silwan after the “Ateret Cohanim” settler group managed as always through several devious means especially straw buyers to lay its hands on them.

Ateret Cohanim is a government-backed Jewish group and religious institute located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It actively works on Judaizing the holy city and expelling its indigenous people the Jerusalemites from their homes.

Israel’s Judaization activities started in Silwan district and its nearby areas in 1996 when the Jewish neighborhood of Ma’ale Hazeitim emerged as a small settlement on the Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem inside the Arab neighborhood of Ras al-Amud.

In 2004 Ateret Cohanim started to extract Israeli court decisions that enabled it to seize Palestinian homes and property and displace local families in Silwan and other neighborhoods of the holy city.

Jewish settlers took over a house on Thursday morning in Ras al-Amud neighborhood in the east Jerusalem district of Silwan after its owner reportedly “leaked” it to the “Ateret Cohanim” settler group.

Local residents said they were surprised to see settlers entering the house of Ibrahim Awwad through its main door under police escort in the morning.

They added that this was the second house that was sold by the family of Awwad to settlers through mediators affirming the same family had sold an adjacent house to settlers about two and a half months ago.

The house consists of two floors and five apartments and is located in a raised area overlooking all Silwan’s neighborhoods and in the south of the Aqsa Mosque.

The Palestinian homeowner had already received an Israeli demolition order at the pretext of unlicensed construction in order to pressure him to sell his house.

Last year settlers seized dozens of Palestinian houses in Silwan after their owners “leaked” it to the “Ateret Cohanim” settler group directly or through Arab straw buyers.

Ateret Cohanim is a government-backed Jewish group and educational institute located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It actively works on Judaizing the holy city and expelling its indigenous people the Jerusalemites from their homes.

Israel’s Judaization activities started in Silwan district and its nearby areas in 1996 when the Jewish neighborhood of Ma’ale Hazeitim emerged as a small settlement outpost on the Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem inside the Arab neighborhood of Ras al-Amud.

In 2004 Ateret Cohanim embarked on extracting Israeli courts decisions that enabled it to seize Palestinian homes and property and displace local families in Silwan and other neighborhoods of the holy city.