‘25,000 property owners in Jubeiha face loss of ownership after ruling’

AMMAN — More than 25,000 owners of land and houses in Jubeiha area have appealed to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour to intervene after a court ruling revoked their ownership.

In an appeal published in Al Rail daily, owners of around 25 plots of land, houses, villas and stores urged Ensour to take action over the ruling issued last month.

The court ruling stated that the ownership of more than 226 dunums of land, where around 25,000 properties have been built, go back to the original owners who recently won a lawsuit after claiming that their lands were sold using forged documents.

“This ruling will make us lose our properties, houses, lands and investments,” a committee representing those affected by the ruling said in the appeal.

“We bought these lands, houses and buildings legally over the years... through the Department of Land and Survey [DLS] that issued us property ownership documents. We have nothing to do with any forgery that affected the original owners of these lands. We appeal for immediate intervention to save us and protect us from disaster,” the committee said.

Tareq Al Shoraan, whose family bought a plot of land in the 1980s in Jubeiha and built a villa, said he was unable to issue property ownership documents recently after the court ruling.

“I went to the DLS to issue this document but they refused, telling me that there is still a case in court and that I might lose ownership of my house and land,” Shoraan told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

“This is unbelievable. We bought our land legally and through public institutions. This is not our fault and we are not to blame. Those people paid billions of dinars to buy these lands and build these houses. They cannot be simply told they do not own these houses and lands. It is not their fault,” he added.

Many of those who own property on the plots of land in question were similarly unable to issue property ownership documents, Shoraan said.

“Some filed lawsuits. I made some consultations to file a lawsuit but lawyers were unable to sue as the judicial authorities said efforts were under way to resolve the issue,” he noted.

“We heard promises and pledges from many MPs and officials but to no avail. We do not know what is happening and how all this will end. This is a disaster and no one is giving us clear answers,” he added.