PALESTINIANS facing eviction from their homes in occupied East Jerusalem have until Thursday to reach agreement with Israeli settlers who want to take over their property following a court ruling on Sunday.

Six families in the Sheikh Jarrah district of the city had previously been given a deadline of May 2 to leave their homes after an Israeli court ruled that they were not the legal owners of the homes they have lived in since the 1950s.

The Jerusalem District Court denied an appeal in March on the grounds that the residents had not paid the required rent for years and had not disproved the claims of Israelis to the property.