UN experts warned on Wednesday that Israel's policy of forced evictions in Jerusalem "may amount to the war crime of forcible transfer" in light the shadow of the eviction of the Ghaith-Sub Laban family from the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. 

"Concerted efforts to evict Palestinians from their homes in Occupied East Jerusalem may amount to forcible transfer. Forcible transfer is a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and a war crime,” said Ajith Sunghay, Head of Office of OHCHR in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The statement said that the recent incident was "part of a wider pattern of evictions of Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem," including the Salem family from the Um Haroun portion of Sheikh Jarrah in March and the Shehadeh family from Batan al-Hawa, Silwan.

"These families are among some 150 Palestinian families – totaling around 1000 people – across East Jerusalem and its surrounding Palestinian neighbourhoods who are living under the threat of eviction and forcible transfer due to discriminatory laws and state collusion with settler groups," they added.

The Ghaith-Sub Laban family, who lived in the home under protected tenancy since 1953, were evicted in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Israeli settlers immediately moved in their home. 

The UN office ended by reiterating "international law requires Israel to end all forced evictions and forcible transfers. The UN Human Rights Office in the OPT urges the Israeli Government to end all discriminatory evictions of Palestinians in Occupied East Jerusalem and to urgently provide an effective remedy to the Gheith-Sub Laban family for the human rights violations they suffered today."