So here are the facts: There is no real disagreement that the property in question was legally purchased by the Jewish community in 1875 and was registered as such in the Ottoman land registry. Of course, the Jewish connection to the area goes back much further; it's known to Jews as Shimon Hatzaddik or Simon the Just, after the 3rd Century BCE Jewish High Priest who is buried there.
A small Jewish community lived in the area peacefully with their Arab neighbors until 1948, when Jordan invaded Jerusalem and evicted all the Jewish families. After this illegal invasion and occupation, the Jordanian government assumed custodianship of the neighborhood and leased the property in question to Palestinian families, but Jordan crucially did not transfer ownership to them. That is an important because the British legislation that Jordanian law is based on holds that without that transfer, the original owners rights have never been extinguished.
This became relevant after the Six Day War in 1967 and the reunification of Jerusalem, when Israel passed a law allowing anyone whose property had been seized as enemy property in 1948 to reclaim their property. But there were some important caveats: They could only reclaim the property if they could demonstrate proof of ownership. And because Jordan never granted ownership to any of the Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah, they were unable to provide proof of purchase or any legal transfer of title. So in 1973, the properties now in question were registered to two Jewish groups.
In 1982, the Jewish groups, now the owners of the properties, sued the families living there for squatting on their property. But the Israeli courts initially ruled in the Palestinians' favor, determining that though the Palestinian families could not demonstrate ownership, they did still enjoy Protected Tenant Status, so they could not be evicted from the property so long as they paid rent and maintained it. Both parties signed the mutually agreed upon arrangement, in which the tenants recognized the trust's full legal ownership.
In 1982, the Jewish groups, now the owners of the properties, sued the families living there for squatting on their property. But the Israeli courts initially ruled in the Palestinians' favor, determining that though the Palestinian families could not demonstrate ownership, they did still enjoy Protected Tenant Status, so they could not be evicted from the property so long as they paid rent and maintained it. Both parties signed the mutually agreed upon arrangement, in which the tenants recognized the trust's full legal ownership.
But things began to change when some residents stopped paying rent, and others began carrying out illegal construction on the property. So in 1993, the trusts began proceedings against those residents based on their non-payment and unlawful changes, and there has been a series of cases periodically ever since.
In February 2021, the Jerusalem District Court upheld an earlier court decision that if they continued to refuse to pay rent, some of the Palestinian residents would have to vacate the premises. The tenants appealed to the Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear their case.
And that is the case whose verdict we're waiting on. Far from the "illegal" evictions of Senator Warren and Sanders' tweets, this is a housing dispute in which one side has refused to pay rent. And the court will now decide whether this means they can be evicted.