AL-QUDS (Dispatches) –
Zionist settlers seized a Palestinian land plot in occupied East Al-Quds’ Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood on Friday, accompanied by police and the deputy mayor of the occupied city.
The settlers set up fences around the land that belonged to Palestinian Salem family.
Local media reported that Zionist troops pushed locals and attacked protesters. A Palestinian woman from the Salem family said to have suffered a broken arm after Arieh King, the deputy mayor of the municipality, attacked her.
The area has been on high alert over the past week, following the demolition of a Palestinian house north of the neighborhood, which has been widely condemned.
Sheikh Jarrah has been a significant flashpoint over the past year after the Zionist regime tried to expel Palestinian families from the area last May to make way for settlers.
On Friday, settlers claimed ownership of the land and the Salem family’s house. The Nahalat Shimon settler group had been active in pursuing eviction orders issued by Zionist courts against Palestinian families.
Four European countries have called on the occupying regime to stop the construction of illegal settler units in East Al-Quds as the regime steps up its land grab and forced eviction policies in the occupied Palestinian lands in defiance of international law.
In a statement released, the Foreign Ministries of France, Germany, Italy and Spain expressed deep concerns about the recent decision by the regime to advance plans for building hundreds of new settler units in East Al-Quds, including between Givat HaMatos and Abu Ghneim areas.
“The new housing units would further disconnect the West Bank from East Jerusalem (Al-Quds)... We urge the Israeli authorities to reverse this decision,” they said.
“This decision directly threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state. Israeli settlements are in clear violation of international law and stand in the way of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”
They further raised alarm at the regime’s evictions and demolitions in Sheikh Jarrah.
On Wednesday, Zionist troops violently raided the Salhiye family house in Sheikh Jarrah before a digger tore down the property. Using stun grenades, the occupation troops forcefully displaced the Palestinian family and activists and arrested at least 18 people.
“We are also deeply concerned by the recent developments in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood,” the four European states said, urging the regime “to permanently halt eviction and demolition procedures of Palestinian structures in East Jerusalem (Al-Quds), as well as in Area C, which contribute to fueling tensions on the ground.”
United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland also called on the regime to stop the eviction of Palestinian families from their homes.
“I call on Israeli authorities to end the displacement and eviction of Palestinians,” he told the UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.