Kurd and his parents were among several families of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war for the creation of Israel who were housed in the Sheikh Jarrah district in 1956, when it was under Jordanian control. Kurd's family were from Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, and his wife's family were from Talbeyieh, in west Jerusalem. Under an agreement with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees - the UN Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA - the families gave up their food ration cards and were given the properties under a 33-year lease. They were told the homes would then revert to full ownership as long as they paid a token rent and kept them in good order.
Israeli police evict Palestinian couple from home of 52 years