On Sunday 2nd August at dawn, Israeli forces evicted two families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem - yet another example of the policy of ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories and in particular in East Jerusalem.The following appeal against the evictions of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah and from other East Jerusalem neighbourhoods will be sent to the press and to diplomatic representatives in Israel/Palestine.
STOP THE EVICTIONS OF PALESTINIANS FROM EAST JERUSALEM
On Sunday 2nd August, the eviction order against two Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, was executed. In the early hours of the morning, soldiers of the IDF forced the al Ghawi and al Hanoun families, refugees since 1948, to leave their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, where they have been living since 1956. Israeli settlers have already taken their places in the houses.
“I deplore today's totally unacceptable actions by Israel, in which Israeli security forces evicted Palestinian refugee families registered with UNRWA from their homes in the Arab neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem to allow settlers to take possession of these properties. These actions are contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions related to occupied territory. The United Nations rejects Israel's claims that this is a matter for municipal authorities and domestic courts. I call on Israel to adhere to international law and to cease and reverse such provocative and unacceptable actions in East Jerusalem" Robert Serry, UN Special Coordinator for the Peace Process.  We are appalled by the evictions in East Jerusalem this morning. Israel’s claim that the imposition of extremist Jewish settlers into this ancient Arab neighborhood is a matter for the court or the municipality is unacceptable. Their actions are incompatible with Israel’s professed desire for peace. British Consulate Jerusalem.  | For weeks, the presence of international and Israeli citizens and of Palestinian human rights activists has sustained the determination of the families to not leave their homes, to not become victims the Israeli state's policy of ethnic cleansing. According to international law, East Jerusalem is part of the Palestinian Territories, occupied by Israel in 1967, and the International Community is obliged to enforce respect for UN resolutions which prohibit the transfer of populations and any other actions that change the status quo of the city.(cf. Geneva Conventions (1949) and UN resolutions 242 (1967), 252 (1968), 267 and 271 (1969), 298 (1971), 465, 476, 478 (1980)). |
The situation of the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem is becoming more and more unsustainable because of the discriminatory policies of the occupying government which aims to Judaise the city of Jerusalem, creating territorial continuity with the illegal Israeli settlements that surround East Jerusalem.
Since 1967 to the present day, 17 settlements have been built occupying 35% of the territory of East Jerusalem and housing 200,000 settlers. OCHA (Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs www.ochaopt.org/) reports that between 1967 and 2006 more than 8500 Palestinian houses have been demolished. In the first four months of 2009, OCHA recorded the demolition of 19 structures in East Jerusalem, including 11 residences, resulting in the displacement of 109 Palestinians including 60 children.
The direct consequences on Palestinian society of such actions by the Israeli government are the territorial fragmentation of the different East Jerusalem neighbourhoods and the isolation of East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, creating de facto conditions for Jerusalem to be the "eternal capital of the State of Israel" in violation of international law and the UN resolutions.
The only possible defense of the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem is the support of the international community, who alone can put pressure on the Israeli government to immediately revoke the eviction orders against Palestinians in East Jerusalem (Sheikh Jarrah, Old City, Silwan, Bustan, Ras al Amud) and to halt the plans for the construction of new settlements in Jerusalem.
The al Ghawi, al Hanoun and al Kurd families - the last of these evicted from their home in November 2008, are only the first of the 28 families (500 people) residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood , who risk eviction.
The new US administration and the European Union have condemned the confiscation and demolition of Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem and the construction of new settlements. Therefore, we call on the Italian government and its diplomatic representative in Jerusalem, the Italian General Consulate to severely condemn the evictions of the al Ghawi and al Hanoun families, and to urge the Israeli government to cancel the eviction orders so that the families can return home, to cancel other eviction orders and to stop the plans for settlement building in East Jerusalem in accordance with international law.
As Italian citizens, we ask the Italian Consulate in Jerusalem to visit the al Ghawi, al Hanoun and al Kurd families and to deliver a message of solidarity and support, as has already been done by other European and US diplomatic representatives.
