Israeli authorities halt eviction order of Sheikh Jarrah home amid local, international pressure

The Israeli army authorities stopped, on Tuesday, the eviction of a Palestinian family from their home in Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, amid local and international pressure.

On Monday, Mohammed Salhiya, a Palestinian resident of Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, carried a gas canister onto the roof of his home and threatened to blow up his home rather than let his family be forced out.

The neighbourhood residents have also gathered in front of Salhiya’s family in a show of solidarity, joined by Jewish members of the anti- Zionist Neturei Karta movement.

The representative of the European Union in the Palestinian territories, Sven Kon Burgsdorf, arrived on Monday in the neighbourhood, joined by a delegation of European diplomats.

“Evictions in the occupied territories are a violation of international humanitarian law, and this applies to any eviction or demolition, including this one,” Burgsdorf told AFP.

In 2017, an Israeli court ruled in favour of evicting Salhiya’s family from their home and allocated the land where his home sits for school construction.

Hundreds of Palestinians are facing evictions from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah and other East Jerusalem neighbourhoods.

READ: Jewish settlers attack Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah