Settlers invade house in East Jerusalem

Up to 40 Israeli settlers have taken over part of a house in East Jerusalem, throwing furniture and personal items belonging to the Palestinian family living there onto the street as the Israeli police looked on.

The settlers, accompanied by armed guards, this morning invaded part of the home of the Rivka Al-Kurd family in Sheikh Jarrah, on the same road as the home of the Al Ghawi family, forcibly evicted last month following a court order.

"We found the Al Kurd family pleading with the Israeli police to evict the settlers," said Terry, an Ecumenical Accompanier.

The settlers had taken over part of the house that had been built without a permit. Palestinians in East Jerusalem face systematic discrimination in planning laws and find it hard to obtain permission to build.

"The Al Kurd family had not been advised of the (court ruling) but the settlers had, so they invaded and took over the front portion of the property," said Terry.

"There were at least 15 settlers there when we arrived. The settlers across the road were waving flags, cheering and so forth. (Later) the Israeli police escorted the leaders of the settlers out of the house, apparently to go and celebrate at a nearby shrine," he said.

Both families, along with 26 others, were provided homes in the area by the Jordanian government and the United Nations Refugees and Works Agency (UNRWA) in 1956, when Jordan controlled the area.

The families are refugees who were expelled from their homes in what became Israel in 1948. The Israeli courts have recently ruled several times in favour of the radical settler group Ateret Cohanim which has used claims that Jews owned the properties in the past to appropriate them, with official support, and evict the families. However, the Palestinians have not been able to claim back their properties in Jaffa and East Jerusalem, as Israeli law does not recognise their claims.

Human rights advocates in the Occupied Territories urged the international community to take appropriate actions and protest the developments in the strongest terms.