Dozens of residents have been evacuated from Al Mahatta camp in Amman as authorities demand that roads be widened and congested.
Jordanian authorities “forcibly expelled” about 100 people from informal refugee camps displaced Palestinians, according to the NGO.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Tuesday that 25 homes (GAMs) that house at least 101 people and stores were destroyed at the capital’s Al Mahatta camp in November and December last year.
The humanitarian organisation said that the authorities paved the way for the town’s planning projects and that those who were evicted were not given appropriate consultation, notification, compensation or relocation assistance.
“It broke into”
“Evacuating families and disrupting their livelihoods without proper safeguards and fair compensation means few places for dozens of people to seek help,” said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at HRW.
The Al-Mahatta camp, which is said to house around 8,000 people from Palestinian families displaced by Naqba in 1948, is not recognized as a refugee camp by the Jordanian government.
City officials said in December that GAM’s four-year “strategic plan” for cities through 2026 would include improving traffic, increasing green spaces and reducing population density in informal settlements.
According to the Algad outlet, the demolition operation also aims to “erode” the land owned by Amman Municipality and reclaim the land on which the building was built.
Donation
Dozens of residents claimed that to leave the house, dozens of residents were evacuated, saying they were “given from two weeks to a month’s notice” and “a vaguely verbal promise of compensation for the 80 Jordanian Dinar.” [$113] There is limited transparency per square meter regarding processes or timelines,” HRW reports.
The NGO cited Amman Mayor Yousef al-Shawarbeh, saying that the evacuated Palestinians were not entitled to compensation as they “invade national property” and instead were offered “donations.”
Despite official pledges from former Prime Minister Omar Razaz in 2019, the demolition of Al Mahatta’s homes and shops was carried out to protect the residents’ homes after previous attempts to drive them out in 2017.
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