Dr. Erekat on Israeli Eviction Order and Confiscation of Land in Occupied East Jerusalem

PLO Executive Committee Member and Chief Palestinian Negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat strongly called upon the international community to prevent Israel from evicting a new Palestinian family from Occupied East Jerusalem.

“Tonight, another Palestinian family from Sheikh Jarrah in Occupied East Jerusalem will be expecting to be evicted from the home they have inhabited for decades. The Shamasneh family – made up of10 members including two elderly and three children, are victims of the cruel behaviour of the Israeli occupation aimed at ethnically cleansing the city of its Palestinian inhabitants.”

Dr. Erekat continued “similar to settlement construction, home demolitions and ID revocations, the Israeli policy of home evictions is a tool being used to push Palestinian Christians and Muslims outside their capital. Such policies against an occupied population are nothing short of War Crimes under international law, and so the international community must recognize and acknowledge this.”

Dr. Erekat concluded that “the Israeli government have demonstrated no commitment or inclination to achieving peace, but only to continuous violations of international law and displacement of Palestinians. We hold Israel accountable for any consequences to their illegal actions and we call upon the international community to end the culture of impunity for Israel and treating Israel as a state above international law.”

Hundreds of Palestinian families are being threatened with evictions from their homes by extremist Israeli groups, fully supported by the Israeli government. In the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah alone, four homes have been evicted of their Palestinian inhabitants, being replaced by extremist settlers implanted in the middle of a Palestinian neighborhood. Israeli eviction policies in Sheikh Jarrah affect around 2500 Palestinians.

Dr. Erekat also referred to the latest developments in Beit Iksa, also within the Jerusalem Governorate, where last Friday Israeli Occupation Forces issued confiscation orders for 456 dunums of agricultural land for the construction of the Illegal Israeli Wall. “Israel is trying to suffocate our people to force them to leave. This is a new violation of the International Court of Justice opinion on the illegality of the Israeli Wall and the call made upon to Israel to dismantle it and compensate Palestinians,” said Dr. Erekat. “For peace to prevail, Israel’s impunity must end” Dr. Erekat concluded.