Massive protest in Sheikh Jarrah against displacement of Palestinians

Massive protest in Sheikh Jarrah against displacement of Palestinians

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, Dozens of Jerusalemite citizens and foreign activists participated in a protest in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood against Israel’s plan to displace Palestinians from their homes and Judaize the neighborhood.

A large number of Israeli troops stormed and cordoned off the neighborhood to prevent other Palestinians from joining the protest.

The protesters condemned the decision taken by the higher Israeli court which allowed settlers to seize Palestinian homes in occupied Jerusalem, including the homes of three families last year and the intention to expel 25 other families from their homes.

The Israeli courts declined several lawsuits filed by the residents of the neighborhood against plans to expel them from their homes and give them to Jewish settlers, although they submitted documents proving their ownership of the homes.

In a separate incident, dozens of Palestinians suffered suffocation when Israeli troops fired volleys of tear gas grenades at the weekly protest organized in the village of Iraq Burin, near Nablus city, against settlement expansion and land annexation.

Local sources said that Israel soldiers ambushed Palestinian young men and chased them which triggered clashes between the two sides.

In Ariha (Jericho) city, a number of extremist Jewish settlers stormed last night the city under military protection and sneaked into a deserted synagogue called Naaran.

Local sources said that the settlers chanted racial slurs against Arabs and loudly called for rebuilding the synagogue and strengthening the Jewish presence in the city.