Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem, a story of Palestinian steadfastness in confrontation of Israeli crimes of ethnic cleansing

Occupied Jerusalem (ST): The war of ethnic cleansing and demographic change carried out by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem continues, as it escalated its aggressive practices with the aim of displacing them from their homes, seizing their lands and Judaizing them, ending the Palestinian presence in the Holy City, obliterating its cultural features and falsifying its history.

The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, which is located on the northern side of the Old City in Jerusalem is an example of a policy of displacement against the Palestinians, as settlements surround this neighborhood on all sides to besiege the Palestinian presence in the region, but the Palestinians are facing this by steadfastness in the face of the occupation by clinging to their land despite all the oppressive practices of the occupation.

The occupation began implementing plans for the forced displacement of about 550 Palestinians from the neighborhood, amid Palestinian refusal, which was manifested through ongoing demonstrations and sit-ins in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in support for the people of Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in their battle against the occupation.

Fatah spokesman Osama al-Qawasmi affirmed in a statement that the occupation authorities are committing the crime of ethnic cleansing and racial discrimination against the Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem amid world’s silence and its official institutions, stressing that the Palestinian people will continue steadfastness to thwart the occupation plans aimed at uprooting them from their land.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said in a statement that the plan to displace the people of Sheikh Jarrah is a continuation of the ongoing Judaization war that targets the city of Jerusalem to change its demographic and geographical reality by besieging it with settlements in order to isolate it from the rest of the West Bank, stressing that the policy of silence and indifference from the international community towards the blatant aggression on Jerusalem encourages the occupation to continue its Judaizing and racist measures.

The director of the Jerusalem International Center, Hassan Khater, stated in a statement to the news reporter that the chapters of the occupation plan, the seizure of 28 homes and properties in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and the displacement of about 550 Palestinians, began more than ten years ago, when the occupation authorities displaced several families from their homes.

Director of the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, Jawad Siyam, explained that the people of Sheikh Jarrah are waging a legendary battle and steadfastness in the face of the occupation over five decades to thwart the plans of displacement and uprooting, indicating that solidarity activities and popular marches will continue in the coming days.

K.Q.