Renewed clashes between Palestinian residents and extremist Jewish settlers broke out in east Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood early on Sunday as a notorious Israeli lawmaker reopened his office in the area under police protection.
According to local sources a horde of settlers stormed Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to participate in the reopening of a makeshift office for Knesset member Itamar Ben Gvir head of the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party on a piece of land belonging to a Palestinian family.
Dozens of violent settlers set up a tent on the Salem family’s land who is facing imminent expulsion and clashed with residents and activists injuring 73-year-old owner Fatima Salem.
Settlers scuffled with the residents and used pepper spray as chairs were being hurled by both sides before Israeli police forces stepped in to protect the settlers.
Soon later Ben-Gvir joined the settlers in the tent where he reopened his office claiming that Jews are “the landlords.”
On Saturday he announced his intent to reopen his office in Sheikh Jarrah on a plot of land belonging to the Salem family that was appropriated by a settler group last month.
Following the announcement dozens of settlers raided the neighborhood last night throwing stones at Palestinian homes and damaging cars.
Settlers then reached the house of the Salem family and assaulted women and children with pepper spray local sources said
Instead of arresting the settlers Israeli police forces attacked the local residents and showered them with stun and tear gas grenades in the ensuing confrontations last night according to Palestinian media.
At least 16 residents were injured and six Palestinians were arrested during those settler-police attacks.
The Salem family has been fighting for decades in courts against settler claims over their home.
In 1987 Fatima Salem was ordered by an Israeli court to evacuate the house on claims that she could not prove her residence there before the death of her parents. Salem says she was born in the house and has lived there since.
The 1987 decision was frozen in the same year but the case was reactivated in 2015. In December 2021 the family was given a final eviction notice.
Fatima’s son and daughter have families and they live with her in the house.
