Palestinian home razed in Jerusalem

Palestinian home razed in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM: Zionist police demolished the home of a Palestinian family and arrested at least 18 people as they carried out a controversial eviction order in the sensitive east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah early yesterday. The looming eviction of other families from Sheikh Jarrah in May last year partly fueled an 11-day war between the Zionist entity and armed Palestinian factions in Gaza.

Before dawn, Zionist officers went to the home of the Salhiya family, who were first served with an eviction notice in 2017, after courts ruled the house had been built illegally. Jerusalem authorities have said the land will be used to build a school for children with special needs, but the eviction may raise tension in a neighborhood that has become a symbol of Palestinian opposition to Zionist occupation.

Zionist police said they had “completed the execution of an eviction order of illegal buildings built on grounds designated for a school for children with special needs”. “Members of the family living in the illegal buildings were given countless opportunities to hand over the land with consent,” a police statement said.

A bulldozer raked through rubble hours after the home was destroyed. A police spokesman told AFP 18 family members and