November 20, 2008

Kristen Ess - At 8:00 am Israeli bulldozers, police and soldiers, returned to the solidarity tent in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. "It’s remarkable how much energy Israel invests in destroying something so simple and peaceful," a resident said this morning.

Israeli forces destroyed the tent yesterday, which the community of 500 plus their supporters rebuilt, this time making two smaller tents.

The Israelis then destroyed those as well. Of the five demonstrators arrested yesterday, four have been released.

Thousands of Palestinians are under threat of home demolition in East Jerusalem, Rima Awad of the Coalition for Jerusalem said Thursday. "I am from occupied East Jerusalem and we are experiencing a continued wave in Israel’s ethnic cleansing policies of Palestinians from East Jerusalem. Israeli forces are continuing with their policies of home demolitions and evictions of families."

At the solidarity tent in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, Awad says, "Here in Sheikh Jarrah there are 28 families who are in danger of demolition because some Jewish settler organization claims property of the land. Now the Israeli court has accepted their documents and the people are being evicted."

Sheikh Jarrah is a neighborhood in East Jerusalem’s Silwan district that was created by Jordan and the United Nations for Palestinians in decades past. The Al Kurd family was half occupied by Israeli settlers who claimed ownership.

Awad continued, "One family, the Al Kurd family, was already evicted on 9 November. Israeli occupation forces, military police, special forces, surrounded the area and forcibly evicted Um Kamal and her family for her house in Sheikh Jarrah where they lived since 1956. The 27 other families will probably face the same forced eviction in the near future."

The protest tent was erected upon the eviction of Um Kamal Al Kurd in solidarity with her family and the others under threat. In Sheikh Jarrah there are hundreds of people who will be evicted. "With the tent we are hoping to prevent further evictions and hopefully to return Um Kamal to her house."

On Wednesday some 150 military personnel came with a bulldozer and surrounded the area before demolishing the solidarity tent. Rima Awad was on the scene. "We put up the tent again, or two smaller tents, because they legally cannot do it. It’s private property. The tents are on private land. They legally cannot destroy them, but again today at 8 o’clock the bulldozers came again and bulldozed the whole area."

Thousands of people have visited the solidarity tent since it was erected ten days ago in East Jerusalem where few Palestinians are immune.

Awad of the Coalition for Jerusalem adds, "Thousands of people have received building permit penalty fines from building their homes or they have demolition orders. The latest figure is that there are between nine and 10,000 homes in danger of being demolished."

To receive a building permit as a Palestinian is extremely difficult as they come through the Israeli administration in West Jerusalem. Awad said on Thursday, "Israel does not really provide these building permits to Palestinians. It is very difficult and very costly. This is another measure of controlling the demographics in the city. Israel has the aim of maintaining a Jewish majority they created in Jerusalem therefore they are colonizing occupied East Jerusalem and trying to force the Palestinian citizens out of the city."

Residents describe demolitions, harassment, arrests, closing Palestinian institutions and expanding the Wall and settlements. Additionally the Israeli administration has invoked the Center of Life policy which requires Palestinians to prove they live centrally in Jerusalem or else their identification will be revoked. This has driven families apart whose spouses hold West Bank identifications. A young couple from Bethlehem, who do not wish to be named, moved to East Jerusalem so that the wife could keep her residency. She gave birth and they began raising their daughter away from friends and family in a new house that is under the threat of demolition. Others give up their residency and become resigned to an increased restriction in freedom of movement. A reported 7,000 Palestinians have lost their Jerusalem residency rights based on this policy.

At the tent the police have just left, sirens blaring. Awad reiterates the comments of many, "It is ridiculous that they deploy these armed forces to destroy a tent on private land."