Israeli lawmaker plans to reopen 'office' in Sheikh Jarrah

By Said Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli far-right lawmaker Itamar BenGvir plans to reopen an office in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem in a move likely to cause tension amid evictions of Palestinians from the area, Israeli media reported.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said BenGvir wants to set up an office again in Sheikh Jarrah “to support the Jews living in the neighborhood.”

In May 2021, the lawmaker moved his office to the neighborhood but he was prevented from moving to the area by the government of then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over fears of escalation amid tensions between the Palestinians and Israel over home evictions.

In the past year, tensions ran high in Sheikh Jarrah after an Israeli court ordered the eviction of several Palestinian families in favor of Israeli settlers.

Since 1956, a total of 37 Palestinian families have been living in 27 homes in the neighborhood. However, illegal Jewish settlers have been trying to push them out based on a law approved by the Israeli parliament in 1970.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara