Israeli forces overthrow Palestinian house in Sheikh Jarrah | East Jerusalem News

Sheikh Jarrah, captures East Jerusalem – Israeli forces destroyed a Palestinian family home in the Sheikh Jarrah area of ​​East Jerusalem, days after the couple tried to stop the demolition by threatening to blow up the house.

Large numbers of Israeli police and special forces stormed Salhiyeh’s home and closed the area around 3am (1 GMT) on Wednesday. The couple told Al Jazeera that several armed soldiers entered their home as they slept and beat their relatives, arresting six of them, including the family head, Mahmoud Salhiyeh.

At least 18 Palestinian people who were present at the home in connection with the family were also arrested.

The hail began at 5 a.m. local time (3 GMT) during a torrential downpour on one of the coldest nights in the winter of this year. A family of 18 is now homeless.

Israeli government officials have agreed to demolish the building to provide special education services to their neighbors.

A relative of Yasmeen Salhiyeh, 19, said Israeli forces cut off electricity in his home and fired tear gas inside and around the house. He told Al Jazeera that about 50 police officers “entered the house and started beating the men in the family – they also beat my aunt”.

“They pulled my father out of bed, beating him along with my brothers and cousins,” before he was caught “without giving them a chance to get dressed,” he said.

Yasmeen added that Israeli forces fired rubber-wrapped shells at freedom fighters and journalists who were trying to reach the site of their abduction, resulting in several injuries.

Videos are shared online showed an ambulance is barred from reaching the scene.

Jawad Siam, head of the Wadi Helweh Information Center inspection team, arrived at the scene around 3:30 am (1:30 GMT). He told Al Jazeera that there were “about 200 police, border police, Yammam and special forces” at the scene.

Hours after the devastation and the Israeli army was evacuated, family and lawyers continued to identify the detainees, Yasmeen said.

Salhiyeh House is located on the main road in the Sheikh Jarrah area, about one kilometer (half a mile) north of the walls of the ancient city of Jerusalem. Many neighboring families are being monitored by Israeli authorities for eviction.

(Al Jazeera)

Israeli forces tried to demolish the house on Monday, but failed the family locked themselves on the roof of their house and threatened to blow up the house instead of evicting it, sparking daily disputes with government officials.

“I will burn down the house and everything in it,” Mahmoud Salhiyeh said as he stood on the roof of his house surrounded by air-conditioning. “I do not leave here, just go from here to the grave, because there is no life, no dignity.

“I have been fighting for 25 years. They sent me to buy the house, but I did not accept it.”

Israeli authorities have issued a seizure order claiming that six dunam sites will be used to build a special needs school, according to the couple.

Israeli police said a words on Twitter Wednesday said “this place has been taken over by government officials to set up a special education school for the neighbors.”

The last Israeli court case in connection with the relocation of the couple was set for January 23.

Siam states: “We had hoped that the family would have more time to spend together. “Lawyers have asked for an extension of the drill – they expect a temporary suspension.”

Salhiyeh’s family’s belongings lay on the ground following the demolition [Zena Tahhan/Al Jazeera]

The couple was evicted from their home once before, in the village of Ein Karem west of Jerusalem, in 1948 Nakba, or tragedy, when Zionist militants drove 750,000 Palestinians to form the state of Israel.

Mohammad Abu al-Hommos, a local worker, said Wednesday’s demolition was “revenge”.

“Israelis just want to make sure they can get to the family even if the family manages to stop the 48-hour demolition,” Al Jazeera told the scene.

“They wanted to destroy the spirit of the Mahmoud family, to destroy its reputation and memories. Mahmoud’s parents had already been transferred to Ein Karem, and now in 2022, they have been evicted,” added Abu al-Hommos.

“This is about the Jews in Jerusalem,” he continued, describing the house that had been demolished looking “as if it had been struck by an earthquake.”

Local non-governmental organizations and civil society groups have been talking about a number of Israeli policies and policies in Jerusalem that seek to change the population for the benefit of the Jews, purpose described as “Retaining more Jews in the city” in the 2000 sports program.

Illegal growth, demolition of Palestinian homes, and restrictions on urban development are some of the key strategies used to achieve this goal, according to civil society groups.

Israel annexed the eastern part of the city in 1967. About 57 percent of all land east of Jerusalem was seized by Israeli authorities, including Palestinian owners, for building banned cities and allocating land as “green spaces. construction. ”The remaining 30 percent have“ unplanned areas ”where reconstruction is prohibited.

About 280 Palestinian families in Jerusalem with a population of 970, including 424 children, are at risk of being evicted by Israeli authorities, According to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA).

Grassroots al-Quds, a Palestinian NGO from Jerusalem, he said The Israeli actions are coming as part of a “major plan to oust al-Sheikh Jarrah from Palestine,” including plans to build new Jewish illegal settlements.

In May, well-known Palestinian demonstrations began with Israeli officials tried to force six Palestinian families out of the country from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah for settlers to relocate.