Musrara Café across from Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate Faces Closure

As Israeli settlers increasingly seize Palestinian homes across East Jerusalem, Israel is also serving expulsion notices to Palestinian businesses. One such establishment now facing this fate is Musrara Café, a decades-old coffee shop located across from the historic Damascus Gate on al-Musrara Street in Jerusalem’s Old City.

The Israeli Supreme Court dismissed a request to appeal from Muhamad Quastiro, the café’s manager, on July 1, 2024,1 thereby green-lighting his expulsion from the coffee shop and exhausting all legal avenues. Muhamad was seeking to appeal a decision from the Jerusalem District Court, which sided with Israel’s General Custodian to expel him from the café. The General Custodian, part of the Ministry of Justice, is responsible for managing land and property allegedly belonging to Jews before 1948.

Using the Legal and Administrative Matters Law—1970, an amendment to the Absentees’ Property Law—1950, the General Custodian initiated expulsion proceedings against Muhamad in 2022.2 This law allows Jews to “reclaim” property in East Jerusalem that they allegedly owned before 1948, even if Palestinians currently reside there. By contrast, the Absentees’ Property Law allows the state to confiscate properties belonging to Palestinians who forcibly fled or were expelled from their homes in what became the State of Israel (often West Jerusalem in this area).

Muhamad told Jerusalem Story3 that his family first rented the shop in 1954 from the Jordanian government, which ruled East Jerusalem from 1948 until Israel occupied it in 1967. Through this contract, the family received protected tenant status under the Protected Tenant Law that was used during the Colonial British Mandate and Jordanian rule.4 However, through Israel’s Third Generation Law, Muhamad lost the protected tenant status when the lease was transferred from his parents to him.5 The Protected Tenant Law was abolished in 1968, while the Third Generation Law was enacted, targeting tenants in properties rented before 1968. This piece of legislation ends the tenant’s protection period when the third-generation tenant (Muhamad’s parents, in this case) dies and consequently, allows the property to be seized by the state.6

The General Custodian argued that because Muhamad is not a protected tenant, they can expel him for violating the contract because he allegedly renovated the property (due to a burst sewage pipe) without prior approval from the General Custodian and paid his rent late.7

Jerusalem-focused nonprofit Ir Amim noted in its recent alert8 on the case that the Legal and Administrative Matters Law—1970 doesn’t even require Muhamad to be expelled if past Jewish owners haven’t filed a claim to retake the property, as is the case here—thereby suggesting that the General Custodian may have an ulterior motive in expelling the Quastiro family.

“What we’ve seen over the years is that the General Custodian often uses these very tight stipulations in order to undertake measures to evict Palestinians from their properties,” Ir Amim’s international relations director, Amy Cohen, told Jerusalem Story.9

“And oftentimes, what it does is it results in the transfer of the property over to settlers.”

According to Muhamad, Israeli settlers have seized at least 20 homes along al-Musrara Street since 2017 by using the Third Generation Law to expel Palestinian residents.

Al-Musrara Street was the site of the “seam line” between West and East Jerusalem between 1948 and 1967. It’s prime Jerusalem real estate, because it joins Jewish West Jerusalem with occupied Arab Jerusalem, which the state is working aggressively to Judaize.

“In 10 years, all the Arabs will be taken out [of this area],” Muhamad said.

Just above the café, a tattered Israeli flag clings to barred windows; here is where one of those settler families lives, Muhamad explained.

Ir Amim reports that the Israeli government recently completed land registration, known as settlement of land title (SOLT), for areas surrounding the café.

SOLT finalizes property ownership (title) of a particular plot to an individual or entity, which Ir Amim argues the state exploits to advance illegal settlements and solidify Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem (see Land Registration in Jerusalem Is a “Grand Land Theft” from Palestinians—Ir Amim’s Amy Cohen).

“While the completion of SOLT on the adjacent plots of land does not have direct bearing on the Quastiro family’s eviction, the close timing between the process and the eviction demand suggests that this area is particularly being targeted by the state for potential Jewish settlement,” Ir Amim reported.10

Additionally, the Jerusalem Affairs Ministry is working with settler group Reshit Jerusalem (Jerusalem First) on the “Northern Trail,”11 a walking route from Damascus Gate to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood that highlights Jewish settler homes and Jewish sites while excluding Palestinian historical sites.

This touristic venture coupled with SOLT and Muhamad’s expulsion suggests the government’s aim is to erase Palestinian identity from the historic ancient Damascus Gate, long a Palestinian community touchpoint, and its surroundings.

“It’s extremely strategic,” Amy said. “It’s contributing to the Israelization of the space.”

For Muhamad, the loss of his café means losing his entire income and himself. “This is a part of me,” he said.

“I drink coffee here. I see my friends, neighbors, and family. I don’t know how life will be without this place.”