An NGO claims that Jordanian authorities “forcibly evicted” about 100 people from a camp that houses displaced Palestinians.
In the capital’s al-Mahatta camp in November and December last year, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) destroyed 25 homes and shops, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) reporting on Tuesday.
The authorities paved the way for a town planning project, according to the humanitarian organization, who claimed that the evicted people were not given sufficient consultation, notice, compensation, or relocation assistance.
“Encroached upon”
Numerous people are left with few places to turn for help because of the displacement of families and the unavoidable consequences of their livelihoods, according to Adam Coogle, HRW’s deputy director for Middle East.
The Jordanian government does not recognize the al-Mahatta camp as a refugee camp, which is said to house approximately 8, 000 Palestinian refugees who were displaced by the 1948 Nakba.
The city’s authorities announced in December that the city’s four-year “Strategic Plan” for the city through 2026 includes traffic improvements, enhancing green space, and reducing the density of informal settlements’ residents.
According to the Alghad outlet, the city said the demolition operations also aim to reclaim formerly “encroached upon” and erected buildings on lands owned by the Amman Municipality.
Donation
According to HRW, dozens of residents who are now displaced claim to have been left in the dark and given only “two weeks to a month’s notice” to leave their homes and “vague verbal promises of compensation of 80 Jordanian dinars]$113] per square meter, with little transparency regarding the process or timeline.”
The displaced Palestinians were not entitled to compensation because they were “encroaching on state property,” according to Amman Mayor Yousef al-Shawarbeh, who cited the NGO as saying that they had been instead offered a “donation.”
Source: Aljazeera
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