Ramallah: The Israeli High Court has ordered the eviction of Jewish colonists occupying the Al Rajabi house — strategically located near Al Ebrahimi mosque — in Hebron’s Old City in the southern Occupied West Bank.

Speaking to Gulf News, one of the Al Rajabi family members said that the colonists had been attempting to squat in the house since 2012 and despite complaints filed against them, Israeli occupation forces did nothing to remove them from the property.

“The Israeli forces actually facilitated their occupation of our family building,” Hazem Al Rajabi told Gulf News.

The family was able to provide the court with undisputed documents from Israeli judicial authorities confirming their rightful ownership.

The colonists had set their sights on the house because it lies on a pathway from Hebron’s Old City to nearby Israeli colonies and outposts.

Last month, the UN world heritage body Unesco recognised the Old City of Hebron and Al Ebrahimi Mosque as Palestinian World Heritage Sites, which outraged Israel.

Israel captured and occupied the West Bank during the 1967 war — a move never recognised by the international community.

Since then, Israeli authorities have set their sights on Al Ebrahimi Mosque (biblically known as the Tomb of Patriarchs) and the strategic areas around it.

The ancient mosque is the third oldest and fourth most important religious site in Islam.

It houses the tombs of the Prophets Ebrahim, Ishaq, Yaqoob, and Yousuf.

Israel has divided the mosque into Jewish and Muslim sections.

Access to the smaller Muslim section is severely restricted by the Israeli occupation forces, and calls to prayers there are frequently banned. Muslims are also barred from the holy site several weeks a year to give Israeli colonists the chance to mark Jewish feasts inside the holy site.

The decision was a rare victory for Palestinians who face systematic evictions from their properties at the hands of Jewish colonists.

In the case of the Al Rajabi house, colonists submitted fake documents stating they had bought the house from one of the owners.

The Israeli occupation forces concluded the property was disputed and therefore took over the guardianship of the building, a move that was approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In 2013, the Al Rajabi clan obtained an Israeli court order that demanded the colonists evacuate the house.

Since then, the house has been periodically raided by Jewish colonists, who have forcefully kicked out members of the Al Rajabi family.