Israeli violations in Sheikh Jarrah is ethnic cleansing that requires urgent intervention
Europeans for al-Quds Organization strongly condemns the escalating violence by colonial settlers, under the protection of the Israeli army and an official Israeli political decision, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied Jerusalem.
The Israeli settlers attacks and attempts to forcibly displace Palestinian citizens and seize their homes and lands constitute a crime that amounts to ethnic cleansing.
The Organization expresses its full solidarity with the people of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, who are facing one of the most cruel attacks and attempts of forced displacement. These attacks culminated on the morning of Sunday, February 13, 2022, as the Israeli Knesset member, Itamar Ben Gvir, reopened his office in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood amid the attacks of the occupation forces and colonial settlers on the residents of the neighborhood and their supporters.
Prior to the reopening of the office, the settlers began gathering in the vicinity of the house of the Jerusalemite Salem family in the western part of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Over the course of the day, settlers and the Israeli army carried out repeated attacks against Palestinian citizens, injuring at least 31 people, including two solidarity activists, two journalists and 3 paramedics. The injuries varied between rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs that caused burns, beatings and spraying pepper gas.
Until late in the evening of Sunday, the Israeli army continued its attacks in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, closing its western entrance with iron mounds, expelling the solidarity activists present in the vicinity of the Salem family home and evacuating its surroundings to settlers and extremist Knesset member, Itamar Ben Gvir. The families and solidarity activists were also assaulted with rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas and sound bombs. In addition, in less than 24 hours, 15 civilians were arrested.
Europeans for al-Quds expresses its deep concern over the dangerous repercussions that could occur from the continued state of escalation and violence practiced by settlers and the occupation army, including Israeli plans to reactivate previous decisions to demolish dozens of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, which threatens hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children, with forced displacement, stressing that these human rights violations requires urgent intervention to stop them.
It is noteworthy that similar plans caused the last Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and a violent confrontation in the West Bank last May, which resulted in hundreds of injuries and losses. There is a great concern that things will develop into a similar situation.
Europeans for al-Quds urges members of Parliament in the European Union to move effectively in their countries to take firm stances against Israeli violations in Jerusalem and the set of Israeli measures that seek to impose a fait accompli unilaterally in the occupied city of Jerusalem.
The Organization indicates that it is preparing to hold a press conference on the 17thof this month in Rome within the Italian Parliament, in the presence of many members of the diplomatic corps, Italian journalists and politicians, to present the details and results of the report entitled Jerusalem 2021, Judaization sparks confrontation. The report reviews all of Israel’s violations in Jerusalem during 2021, which concluded that the Israeli occupation pursues policies based on racial discrimination that amounts to ethnic cleansing to tighten its control over the occupied Jerusalem and change its identity and character.
Europeans for al-Quds
February 14, 2022
