Israeli border police stand guard as an Israeli bulldozer demolishes the house of the Palestinian Salhiya family at the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem, 19 January 2022. Overnight, the Israeli police evacuated the Salhiya family's house and arrested some of the family members. - EPA pic
Another devastating action made by Israeli police continued to fuel the rage of many countries towards their action in destroying the home of a Palestinian family and arrested at least 18 people as they carried out a controversial eviction order in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah early Wednesday, Jan 19.
That was not the first time. Israel has caught global attention since the looming eviction of other families from Sheikh Jarrah in May last year fuelled an 11-day war between Israel and armed Palestinian factions in Gaza.
Which part that they do not understand about human rights in the very first place? Do not understand or refuse to?
"Israel police completed the execution of an eviction order of illegal buildings built on grounds designated for a school for children with special needs from east Jerusalem," a police statement said.
It said "members of the family living in the illegal buildings were given countless opportunities to hand over the land with consent".
An AFP photographer witnessed the demolition of the house.
What was happening exactly?
According to a police spokeswoman, 18 family members and supporters were detained for "violating a court order, violent fortification, and disrupting public order," although no conflicts occurred during the eviction.
The Salhiya family has been facing the threat of eviction from their home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem since 2017 when the land where their home sits was allocated for school construction.
When police arrived on Monday to carry out the order, Salhiya family members walked up to the building's roof with gas canisters, threatening to set fire to the contents and themselves if they were forced out.
A delegation of European diplomats also visited the site. Sven Kuehn von Burgsdorff, head of the European Union's mission to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, told the press on Monday that "in occupied territory, evictions are a violation of international humanitarian law".
The police had eventually backed off.
The lawyer for the Salhiya family stated the demolition carried out early Wednesday was "illegal," because the municipality had gotten approval from the court to remove but not destroy the property.
"The eviction ruling is only for Mahmud Salhiya and his wife, not the rest of the family," attorney Walid said while noting a court hearing on Jan 23 upon the issue.
Human Rights Watch Israel and Palestine director Omar Shakir called the eviction “cruel” and stressed that the Salhiya family had previously been forced from their west Jerusalem home during Israel’s creation in 1948.
Wednesday’s eviction made them “two-time refugees”, Burgsdorff said.
What it is like to be Palestinians
Hundreds of Palestinians face eviction from homes in Sheikh Jarrah and other east Jerusalem neighbourhoods. Circumstances surrounding the eviction threats vary.
In some cases, Jewish Israelis have lodged legal claims to plots they say were illegally taken during the war that accompanied Israel's creation in 1948.
Palestinians say their homes were legally purchased from Jordanian authorities who controlled East Jerusalem between 1948 and 1967.
Israel captured east Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community.
More than 200,000 Jewish settlers have since moved into the city's eastern sector, fuelling tensions with Palestinians, who claim it as the capital of their future state.
*Sources: Visual and Reference Credits to Social Media, News Strait Time, & various cross-references for context.
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