European diplomats visit  East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah 

A number of European representatives and diplomats yesterday visited the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem and met with Palestinian families threatened with eviction by occupation authotiries.

The European delegation was headed by EU representative in Palestine, Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, and included the consuls of Canada and Switzerland.

During the visit, Burgsdorff appealed to Israel to halt the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in occupied East Jerusalem to make way for Jewish settlers, asking: “How on earth is it possible that a family can be evicted at Christmas, in the middle of the winter?”

He reiterated the EU position rejecting Israeli settlement policies which violate international law and contradict the occupation state’s obligations under international conventions.

EU spokesman in Jerusalem, Shadi Othman, said the bloc is closely monitoring the developments in the city including in Sheikh Jarrah.

READ: Israel imposes military cordon on Sheikh Jarrah