The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has condemned Israeli decisions to evacuate and demolish Palestinian homes in Occupied Jerusalem paving the way for implementing plans for a massive destruction and displacement operation against the native population which may amount to “ethnic cleansing crimes.”
“The Israeli decisions coincide with the authorities’ establishment of settlement projects in the heart of Palestinian communities in east Jerusalem to perpetuate a policy of racial discrimination against the Palestinian population” a statement released by the Euro-Med Monitor said on Saturday.
The Euro-Med Monitor referred to the Israeli district court’s decision on March 4 2021 rejecting an appeal submitted by three Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in east Jerusalem against a previous decision issued by the Israeli magistrate court on September 4 2020.
Accordingly the evacuation decision will enter into force no later than August 2021 against the Hammad Dawoudi and Dajani families consisting of seven families and 25 individuals including eight children Euro-Med said.
This decision comes after the Israeli district court rejected on February 10 2021 an appeal filed by four families from Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood against the magistrate court’s decision issued against them in October 2020. The families al-Jauni al-Qasim Iskafi and al-Kurd include seven households of 30 individuals including 10 children according to the human rights group.
In November 2020 the Israeli magistrate court decided to activate al-Sabbagh family’s evacuation consisting of five households and 32 people including 10 children.
“Thus 19 households from eight families comprising 78 people of whom 28 are children remain threatened with forced displacement at any moment” Euro-Med noted.
“While the Israeli authorities insist on eviction decisions against Palestinian homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood the municipality has approved establishing a memorial for soldiers of a battalion in the Israeli army paratroopers brigade killed during the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967” the right group pointed out further.
According to the Hebrew media this Israeli plan includes building observation points and a small theater while the neighborhood’s Palestinian residents suffer from a lack of public institutions and projects serving them.
Euro-Med said that such Israeli plan means that dozens of Palestinian families in the area would face lawsuits demanding evacuating their homes as part of a a large-scale settlement scheme in the neighborhood.
The Euro-Med Monitor has also voiced concern over the ongoing Israeli demolition campaign in Silwan neighborhood adjacent to the Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem which places dozens of Palestinian homes under threat of demolition at any moment.
Moreover on March 11 2021 the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem unveiled a decision that rejected engineering plans for Bustan neighborhood in Silwan. The court also decided not to extend the freeze on the demolition of the neighborhood’s homes.
According to Fakhri Abu Diyab a spokesman for the Committee for the Defense of Silwan’s Lands and Real Estate the Israeli municipality has rejected the engineering plans it had previously requested over the past years to stop the demolition of the neighborhood.
Abu Diyab said that the municipality disavowed and cancelled previous agreements with engineers lawyers and the neighborhood committee about not demolishing the neighborhood.
As a result 100 homes inhabited by 1550 people most of them children and women in Bustan neighborhood are at risk of displacement Euro-Med said.
“These Israeli decisions and plans related to the evacuation demolition and displacement of Palestinians and the establishment of Jewish buildings and landmarks reflect the apartheid system that Israel pursues in light of its reliance on discriminatory laws and unfair policies” Euro-Med underlined.
These plans come in light of the accelerating demolition of Palestinian homes in Jerusalem as data shows that Israel destroyed 148 homes and displaced 450 people in east Jerusalem neighborhoods during 2020 according to Euro-Med.
Euro-Med Monitor has appealed to the international community and the UN to shoulder their responsibilities in this regard and work on stopping Israel’s systematic demolition of Palestinian homes and property in east Jerusalem and curbing its intents to change the city’s demographic reality.
