Israel 'fast tracking' plan to evict Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah

Israeli authorities in occupied East Jerusalem are “fast tracking” settlement plans in Sheikh Jarrah, which will mean the eviction of five Palestinian families, reported NGO Ir Amim.

The District Planning and Building Committee will meet on 23 December to “discuss objections to plans for two buildings that would necessitate the tear-down of existing buildings” and the forced displacement of their residents.

The planned buildings will be located “in the heart of the Um Haroun section of Sheikh Jarrah, where approximately 45 Palestinian families are living under threat of eviction”, Ir Amim noted.

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According to the Israeli NGO, “advancement of these plans demonstrates the acceleration of new facts on the ground to tighten Israel’s ring of control in and around the Old City, deepening tensions in the band of Palestinian neighbourhoods outside of it.”

“In Sheikh Jarrah alone,” Ir Amim added, “there are roughly 75 families at risk of eviction and in Silwan, just south of the Old City, approximately 85 additional families are at risk in Batan Al-Hawa, site of a massive takeover campaign by the Ateret Cohanim settler organisation.”

Ir Amim further highlighted how “legislation enacted last month is anticipated to open the floodgates for settlement expansion in the Elad settler stronghold of Wadi Hilweh, where some 70 families have been evicted.”