RAMALLAH: Dozens of people were injured in violent clashes in East Jerusalem on Sunday night as settlers continued their attempts to forcibly evict Palestinian families from their homes.
For the second day running, Israeli police took to the streets of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, closing streets and alleyways near to the home of Fatima Salem and her family, and using water, cavalry teams, stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.
The attacks by settlers on Jerusalemites in the neighborhood continued into the early hours, with groups throwing stones at houses, spraying pepper gas and raising Israeli flags. Others roamed the streets provoking locals, singing and dancing.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, 31 people were injured after being hit by stun grenades, rubber bullets and pepper gas. They included three paramedics, a journalist and two foreign activists. Police arrested 11 Jerusalemites.
Tensions in the neighborhood increased after Itamar Ben Gvir, an Israeli far-right member of the Knesset, set up his office there in solidarity with the settlers who are trying to seize Palestinian homes.
After the provocation turned to violence, Israeli police and border guards — who were deployed mostly to protect the settlers — joined in the attacks on Palestinian citizens, which caused the conflict to escalate further.
Abdulfattah Eskafi, one of the 28 homeowners in Sheikh Jarrah who have been under attack, said the situation was getting worse.
“There was an escalation in the settlers’ violence against us after they failed to evacuate us as a group,” he told Arab News. “They are trying to single us out and evict us house by house.”
He described the events of Sunday night as a “street war,” adding that the Israeli police had protected the settlers and attacked the Palestinians with “excessive force.”
“They want to take control of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, which they have no right to, through every possible method,” Abdulfattah Eskafi said.
Palestinian factions, including Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, threatened a violent response if the attacks by settlers and the police continued.
Fatah spokesperson Osama Al-Qawasma told Arab News: “Fatah demands its members and our people to be present in Sheikh Jarrah to confront the settlers directly and the occupation forces who seek to Judaize Sheikh Jarrah and expel the families from their homes.
“We are in the first trench, defending every inch of Palestine with all our capabilities.”
Fatah Central Committee Secretary-General Jibril Rajoub said that “Israeli terrorism” was to blame for the ongoing tension in Sheikh Jarrah.
He told Arab News that he condemned Israel’s “ethnic cleansing of everything related to Islam, Christianity and Arabism in occupied Jerusalem.”
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke to Fatima Salem, whose home has been under attack, over the phone to express his support for her and her family.
“We stand with you heart and soul, and our hearts and minds are with you, and the occupation will end soon,” he said.
Abbas also praised the sacrifices of Jerusalemites and their steadfastness in the face of the arbitrary measures of the Israeli occupation forces.
The latest attacks on Palestinians have sparked fears of a repeat of the violent conflict between Hamas and Israel that lasted for 11 days in May last year, following similar provocation by settlers and supporters of Bin Gvir.
Abdulatif Al-Qanou, a Hamas spokesperson, told Arab News: “The Sheikh Jarrah people are not alone. Rather, the Palestinian resistance is ready to defend them, and it is closely following this Israeli behavior.
“We cannot allow the occupation to repeat the experience of displacement from the neighborhoods and areas of occupied Jerusalem.”
The Israeli government is trying to evacuate about 100 families from 28 properties and give them to the settlers. About 100 people from 19 Jewish families currently live in three houses in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
The events of recent days in Sheikh Jarrah have made headlines on social media platforms used by Palestinians.
The neighborhood has a high significance because it is located in Jerusalem, and any event that takes place in the city has greater resonance than those that happen in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Because of its location, the Israeli police cannot resort to deadly force against Palestinians as used by the armed forces in the West Bank and on the borders with the Gaza Strip, which means the protests in Sheikh Jarrah are more drawn out.
New eviction standoff in flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East JerusalemUN urges Israel to stop demolitions and evacuations in Sheikh Jarrah in West Bank