Israeli court to reconvene next week on eviction of Palestinian families
The High Court decides to again discuss the petition by Palestinian residents of the Jerusalem Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood against eviction orders issued at the request of Jewish settlers.
High Court Justice Dafna Barak-Erez on May 6 ordered Palestinian plaintiffs and opposing settlers to come back to court May 10. The plaintiffs, residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, are seeking to cancel eviction orders issued against them at the request of right-wing activists a few months ago.
For a few evenings now, when the daily Ramadan fasting ends, young Palestinians gather at Sheikh Jarrah to demonstrate against the intention to evict, in stages, some 300 residents from their homes. Some of the demonstrators are not residents of the neighborhood, but are coming there to express their solidarity with the families targeted by the eviction orders. On May 5, ahead of the High Court session, clashes broke out between Palestinians and Jewish right-wing militants. Police detained some Palestinian demonstrators, who were for the most part released later on.
Altercations broke out the evening of May 6 between local Palestinian residents and members of far-right Jewish Power [Otzma Yehudit] party headed by Itamar Ben Gvir, who had set up office in a tent in the neighborhood May 2. Both sides threw rocks at each other, while police officers attempted to break up the brawl.
Tensions in East Jerusalem have increased over the past few weeks. At the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, clashes broke out near the Damascus Gate, outside the Old City. Palestinian residents clashed with police and with Jewish extreme-right activists. Now demonstrations in Jerusalem are taking place mostly in Sheikh Jarrah, where Palestinian residents of the neighborhood are pitted against Jewish settlers who claim ownership of some of the older buildings there.
