Israel suspends Sheikh Jarrah evictions
Israel has temporarily halted the eviction of families in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in what residents see as a play for time to wait out the international uproar and media attention.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Calm prevails in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood for now. Tensions in the neighborhood between Palestinians and Israeli settlers had sparked violent clashes between the resistance factions in Gaza and the Israeli army that lasted for 11 days in May, in addition to daily protests and confrontations in Jerusalem.
In August, Israel’s Supreme Court postponed a hearing concerning the expulsion of four families — Skafi, Jaouni, al-Kurd and Qasim — easing the tension and restoring some calm in the neighborhood.
This cautious calm, however, could explode at any moment and the families are living in constant fear of eviction.
On Aug. 2, the Israeli Supreme Court put off ruling on the four families’ appeal against the decision to expel them from their homes and decided to hold another session to continue hearing the witnesses, but has yet to set a date.
