EAST JERUSALEM: JEWISH SETTLERS SEIZE PALESTINIAN HOMES BY FORCE

AsiaNews
Nov 4 2009
Italy

Israeli courts are increasingly ruling against Palestinian families,
ordering them to leave their homes. The Israeli government is
also doing its part in evicting Palestinians by demolishing their
allegedly "unauthorised" homes. Since 1967, some 2,000 houses have
been demolished; another 15,000 are on the ‘to be demolished’ list.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A group of 40 Jewish settlers have
taken over by force another Palestinian house in East Jerusalem’s
neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The settlers stormed the building
with the assistance of security guards. The 29 members of the al-Kurd
family who lived in the house found themselves in the street, their
belongings thrown out of the windows.

Police moved in to stop settlers clashing with Palestinians and their
Israeli supporters, but eyewitnesses reported that they arrived late,
allowing the settlers to continue their attack.

Palestinian and Israeli human rights activists from the Grassroots
Jerusalem organisation have called for a vigil tonight in Sheikh Jarrah
to protest the attack and the growing number of forced expropriations
in Arab Jerusalem. The al-Kurd family case is in fact but the latest
in a series that have occurred in the past few months.

On 30 October, the Salah family of Beit Safafa suffered a similar
fate. About ten settlers forced their way into their house, claiming
that had bought it from an alleged Armenian owner.

According to the Palestinian News Network, the Salahs have papers
showing they owned the house since 1966, but a sentence by Israel’s
High Court ordered the family to leave the premises.

As a result of the scuffle that followed, all five members of the
Palestinian family ended up in hospital, including Sheha and Ali
Ibrahim, respectively 89 and 100 years old.

In addition to home evictions, Palestinians are also confronted with
demolitions by Israeli authorities.

The latest ones took place on 27 October in Shuafat, Zur Baher,
Silwan and Jabel Mukabar where bulldozers flattened five houses
allegedly built without a permit.

Since 1967, about 2,000 Palestinian homes have been demolished in
Jerusalem, 400 in 2008 alone. About 15,000 "unauthorised" houses are
waiting to be demolished.

Since the Six Day War, Israel has placed 190,000 settlers in the Holy
City in violation of international law, which bans Israeli settlements
on the Occupied Territories.

Rabbi Yehiel Grenimann, of Rabbis for Human Rights, said that the
al-Kurd case is "just another step-by-step way of pushing them (the
Palestinians) out"

Unlawful Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory, in East
Jerusalem and the West Bank, are the main obstacle to renewed peace
talks.

The Palestinian National Authority has called for a freeze on
settlement activities, or at least a 9-12 month moratorium to granting
building permits in the West Bank.

However, the Israeli government has rejected any halt to construction,
and is actually planning more. About 2,500 building sites already
in operation will continue their scheduled work. Israel’s government
approved another 455 units in September.

US Secretary Hillary Clinton’s recent visit to Jerusalem has further
complicated matters (See Joshua Lapide, "Hillary Clinton’s visit to
Israel triggers the Third Intifada," in AsiaNews, 2 November 2009)

Last Friday, after her with Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu,
Ms Clinton said that the peace process could start again even if Israel
did not freeze its settlement activities in the Occupied Territories.

This represents a complete turnaround for the United States with
regard to the position taken by the US President Barack Obama and
his Mideast envoy George Mitchell.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress