The European Union (EU) has voiced concern over Israel’s decision to displace Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood east of Occupied Jerusalem.
This came in a letter sent on Tuesday by Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff the EU representative to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to Palestinian minister of Jerusalem affairs Fadi al-Hadmi.
Replying to a letter sent by minister Hadmi Burgsdorff described Israel’s intent to carry out a mass eviction campaign in Sheikh Jarrah as a worrying development and warned that it would put more Palestinian families at imminent risk of forced transfer.
The EU official promised to follow up on the matter and visit Sheikh Jarrah to see closely the situation there.
Minister Hadmi recently warned in a letter sent to Burgsdorff that “many Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah are facing imminent risk of displacement after an Israeli court last month approved the eviction of seven families from their homes.”
“In total 12 families in Sheikh Jarrah are facing imminent eviction which may lead to more evictions in the future” the minister said pointing out that many Palestinian families in Baten al-Hawa neighborhood in the east Jerusalem district of Silwan are also threatened with a similar step.
The Palestinian official appealed to EU and its member states to pressure Israel to stop the displacement policy it pursues against the Palestinians in east Jerusalem.
