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PA: Israeli escalation in Jerusalem tests US position on Palestine

May 27, 2021 at 12:06 pm

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas give a joint statement, on 25 May 2021, at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. [ALEX BRANDON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images]

The Palestinian Authority said on Wednesday that the ongoing Israeli escalation in Jerusalem is a real test of the US administration’s position towards the Palestinian issue, as expressed this week by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“Israel is escalating its violations and forced expulsions while Blinken is visiting the region,” said the PA Foreign Ministry. It noted that Israel is imposing a new reality on the ground to challenge the US and other international powers. “The procedures of the Israeli courts and their rulings related to settlements are a real test for the positions declared by Blinken during his visit to Ramallah.”

During his meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Blinken said that Washington “objects to unilateral provocations, and rejects the expulsion of residents from their homes in Jerusalem.”

The Israeli Central Court in Jerusalem yesterday postponed its decision on the appeal submitted by 86 Palestinian families. The 700 family members are facing the imminent threat of forced expulsion from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

Israel has instigated a number of ostensibly legal measures by Jewish settlers and settler organisations against Palestinian residents in order to steal their homes. Under international law, East Jerusalem, including Sheikh Jarrah and the Old City, is occupied territory. As such, Israeli courts have no jurisdiction over the Palestinian residents and have no legal right to impose judgements against them.

READ: Israel rejects US plan to reopen consulate in occupied Jerusalem