Israeli settlers terrorise Sheikh Jarrah residents to push them out

Israeli Jewish settlers, protected by Israeli police, continue to terrorise Palestinian residents of Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in an effort to force them to leave their homes.

Speaking to Safa news agency, Sheikh Jarrah resident Saleh Ziab said that Palestinians are subject to daily Israeli raids carried out by settlers protected by Israeli occupation police, citing the massive raid on the neighbourhood on Monday night when 20 people were wounded and others arrested.

According to Ziab, Israeli occupation forces are preventing Palestinians “from sitting or standing in front of their homes and imposes tight restrictions on their exit or entry to the neighbourhood.”

However, he said, the occupation allows armed Jewish settlers to wander whenever and wherever they want through the neighbourhood.

“Last night, we were surprised with tens of Israeli soldiers suddenly raiding my house after breaking its door and scaring our children.”

He added: “The Israeli troops inspected my house under the pretext of looking for youths who threw stones at them … They threatened me.”

Ziab said that the Israeli police raid Palestinian homes after false complaints from are made by the illegal settlers.

“This neighbourhood is subject to hundreds of systematic violations every day,” he said, stressing that the Israeli occupation is putting pressure on the Palestinians in order to force them leave their homes to make way for illegal settlers.

Sheikh Jarrah has been under a strict Israeli siege since 18 May. Israel prevents activists and journalists from entering the neighbourhood.

“I became unable to protect my home and my children from the settler aggression,” Ziab said, calling for international efforts to protect them.

The Committee of Sheikh Jarrah said: “We recognise that the attempts to intimidate the residents of the neighbourhood by the Israeli troops and settlers aimed at pushing us to leave our homes. We stress that these attempts will not succeed, but make us more resilient.”

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