A/HRC/37/43 where 2,500 settlers are located. Such initiatives are supported by funding of the Government of Israel (A/HRC/34/39, para. 30). The Absentee Property Law has been often evoked to transfer properties to settler organizations in East Jerusalem, mainly to Elad and Ateret Cohanim (A/70/351, paras. 29-36). 40. Lawsuits based on a claim of previous Jewish ownership have been a frequent strategy for settler organizations to acquire properties in East Jerusalem. Since 2014, there has been an increase in settler takeovers in the neighbourhoods surrounding the Old City, primarily through purchase and claims of prior ownership before 1948.34 The combination of three laws enacted by Israel since 1948 allows Jews to claim ownership rights to properties on the basis of alleged pre-1948 Jewish ownership; Palestinians who owned land or property in areas before 1948 that are now part of the State of Israel are not, however, granted any reciprocal right (A/71/355, para. 7).35 41. Tourism heritage development in East Jerusalem has also profoundly changed the shape and character of Palestinian neighbourhoods, creating footholds for further residential settler expansion (A/HRC/34/39, para. 21; A/70/351, para. 33); according to a report issued by the State Comptroller (annual report 67A) in 2016, archaeological tourism sites in East Jerusalem are managed by private settler groups, with little transparency or government oversight. 42. Settlers have apparently managed to purchase properties from Palestinians, often through Palestinian middlemen, in neighbourhoods where the coercive environment is strongest, such as the Old City and Silwan.34 Information about such sales is very limited, given that they are illegal under Palestinian law and are strongly condemned by Palestinian society. 43. Since the early 1970s, the Palestinian refugee community in Sheikh Jarrah has been the target of forced evictions raised in Israeli courts by settler organizations that claim pre1948 ownership. In November 2017, 66 families were facing eviction proceedings. 36 On 5 September, the Shamasneh family (eight members, including a child) was forcibly evicted from its home in Sheikh Jarrah, which was handed over to Israeli settlers; the first eviction in the neighbourhood in eight years. Although the family had lived in the house since 1964, it had become the subject of eviction proceedings after the house was transferred to settlers claiming to represent the original owners. 44. Forced evictions resulting from demolitions are a violation of human rights, including the rights to adequate housing, water, sanitation, health and education (A/72/564, para. 49). The most direct impact of house demolitions is homelessness, in violation of the right to adequate housing as protected by article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Demolitions generally have a disproportionate impact on women, who are often the primary caregivers for extended families and manage household livelihoods.37 C. Right to life, liberty and security of person 45. To ensure the security of settlers, armed private security guards, Israeli police, border police and temporary checkpoints are deployed. The friction caused by the heavy presence of settlers, Israeli security guards and police in densely populated Palestinian 34 35 36 37 10 35 Seidemann, The Israeli Settlement Enterprise (see footnote 19), p. 71. Eyal Raz and Aviv Tatarsky, Broken Trust: State Involvement in Private Settlement in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan, Ir Amim and Peace Now, May 2016, p. 8. Eyal Raz and Aviv Tatarsky, Broken Trust: State Involvement in Private Settlement in Batan alHawa, Silwan, Ir Amim and Peace Now, May 2016, p. 8. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “East Jerusalem: Palestinians at risk of eviction”, available from www.ochaopt.org/sites/default/files/evictions_community_sum_ej_2016_final_1_11_2016.pdf. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), International Legal Accountability Mechanisms: Palestinian Women Living under Occupation, December 2016.