Jarrah

By Teymoor Nabili in Middle East on September 13th, 2010
Photo from Reuters

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) has a new report entitled "Unsafe Space. The Israeli Authorities' Failure to Protect Human Rights amid Settlements in East Jerusalem".

The short version: Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, especially the Old City, are increasingly subject to hostility and violence because authorities are joining political extremists in attempts to “Judaize” Palestinian areas.

The group's attorney Nisreen Alyan says:

Human rights in Silwan, Sheikh Jarrah and other neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem are at an all-time low as a result of the authorities' policy to side with settler groups. The level of tension and violence is on the rise, but the police are not providing Palestinians with the protection they need and deserve.

By Jacky Rowland in Middle East on October 28th, 2009

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.