Al Ghawi

Tipping the balance in East Jerusalem

I had just left home this morning when I saw a series of police vehicles turning into my road. I have recently moved to Sheikh Jarrah, a neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem where Israel pursues a policy of evicting Palestinians from their homes. I’d been thinking that I was late for work – in fact I was bang on time for a story.

I did a U-turn and followed the police convoy. They were heading towards a Palestinian house that had been the scene of an eviction at the beginning of August. The Ghawi family had been living there for more than 50 years, but an Israeli court ruled that Jews were the rightful owners. So the Palestinians were thrown out onto the street and Jewish settlers moved in.

Finding themselves homeless, the Ghawi family had set up a tent on the pavement opposite their old house. This flimsy structure, containing a few foam mattresses and plastic chairs, was the target of the latest Israeli demolition order.